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IV    ,->lTY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


presented  to  the 
UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SAN  DIEGO 

by 

Mrs.  Griff ing  Bancroft 


LONGMANS'    ENGLISH    CLASSICS 

EDITED    BY 

GEORGE    RICE   CARPENTER,    A.B., 

Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  English  Composition  in  Columbia  College. 

This  series  is  designed  for  use  in  secondary  schools  in  accordance 
with  the  system  of  study  recommended  and  outlined  by  the  National 
Committee  of  Ten,  and  in  direct  preparation  for  the  uniform  entrance 
requirements  in  English,  now  adopted  by  the  principal  American  colleges 
and  universities. 

Each  volume  contains  full  Notes,  Introductions,  Bibliographies, 
and  other  explanatory  and  illustrative  matter.  Crown  8vo,  cloth. 

Books  Prescribed  for  the  1897  Examinations. 

FOR    READING. 

SHAKSPF.KK'S  As  You  LIKE  IT.  With  an  introduction  by  BARRETT 
WENDELL,  A.B.,  Assistant  Professor  of  English  in  Harvard  Univer 
sity,  and  notes  by  WILLIAM  LYON  PHELPS,  Ph.D.,  Instructor  in 
English  Literature  in  Yale  University. 

DEFOE'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAGUE  IN  LONDON.  Edited,  with  intro 
duction  and  notes,  by  Professor  G.  R.  CARPENTER,  of  Columbia 
College.  With  Portrait  of  Defoe. 

IRVING'S  TALES  OF  A  TRAVELLER.  With  an  introduction  by  BRANDER 
MATTHEWS,  Professor  of  Literature  in  Columbia  College,  and  ex 
planatory  notes  by  the  general  editor  of  the  series.  With  Portrait  of 
Irving. 

GEORGE  ELIOT'S  SILAS  MARNER.  Edited, with  introduction  and  notes, 
by  ROBERT  HKRRICK,  A.B.,  Assistant  Professor  of  Rhetoric  in  the 
University  of  Chicago.  With  Portrait  of  George  Eliot. 

FOR    STL'DY. 

SHAKSPERE'S  MERCHANT  OF  VENICE.  Edited,  with  introduction  and 
notes,  by  FRANCIS  B.  GUMMERE,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  English  in 
Haverford  College.  With  Portrait  of  Shakspere. 

BURKE'S  SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATION  WITH  AMERICA.  Edited,  with 
introduction  and  notes,  by  ALBERT  S.  COOK,  Ph.D.,  L.H.D., 
Professor  of  the  English  Language  and  Literature  in  Yale  University. 
With  Portrait  of  Burke. 

SCOTT'S  MARMION.  Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by  ROBERT 
MOKSS  LOVETT,  A.B.,  Assistant  Professor  of  English  in  the 
University  of  Chicago.  With  Portrait  of  Sir  Walter  Scott 

MACAULAY'S  LIFE  OF  SAMUEL  JOHV-ON.  Edited,  with  introduction 
and  notes,  by  the  Rev.  HUHER  GK.AY  UUEHLER,  of  the  Hotchkiss 
School,  Lukcvillc,  Conn.  With  Portrait  of  Johnson. 


LONGMANS'    ENGLISH     CLASSICS— Continued. 
Books  Prescribed  for  the  1898  Examinations. 

FOR    READING. 

MILTON'S  PARADISE  LOST.  BOOKS  I.  AND  II.  Edited,  with  introduc 
tion  and  notes,  by  EDWARD  EVERETT  HALE,  Jr.,  Ph.D.,  Professor 
of  Rhetoric  and  Logic  in  Union  College.  With  Portrait  of  Milton. 

POPE'S  HOMER'S  ILIAD.  BOOKS  I.,  VI.,  XXII.,  AND  XXIV.  Edited, 
with  introduction  and  notes,  by  WILLIAM  H.  MAXWELL,  A.M., 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,and  PERCIVAL 
CHUBB,  of  the  Manual  Training  High  School,  Brooklyn  With 
Portrait  of  Pope. 

THE  SIR  ROGER  DE  COVERLEY  PAPERS,  from  "The  Spectator." 
Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by  D.  O.  S.  LOWELL.  A.M., 
English  Master  in  the  Roxbury  Latin  School,  Roxbury,  Mass.  With 
Portrait  of  Addison. 

GOLDSMITH'S  THE  VICAR  OF  WAKEFIELD.  Edited,  with  introduction 
and  notes,  by  MARY  A.  JORDAN,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and 
Old  English  in  Smith  College.  With  Portrait  of  Goldsmith 

COLKRIDGE'S  THE  RIME  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MARINER.  Edited,  with 
introduction  and  notes,  by  HERBERT  BATES,  A.B..  Instructor  in 
English  in  the  University  of  Nebraska.  With  Portrait  of  Coleridge. 

SOUTHEY'S  LIFE  OF  NELSON.  Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by 
EDWIN  L.  MILLER,  A.M.,  of  the  Englewood  High  School,  Illinois. 
With  Portrait  of  Nelson. 

CARLYLE'S  ESSAY  ON  BURNS.  Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by 
WILSON  FARRAND,  A.M.,  Associate  Principal  of  the  Newark  Acad 
emy,  Newark,  N.  J.  With  Portrait  of  Burns. 

FOR    STUDY. 

SHAKSPERE'S  MACBETH.  Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by 
JOHN  MATTHEWS  MANLY,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  the  English  Language 
in  Brown  University.  With  Portrait  of  Shakspere. 

BURKE'S  SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATION  WITH  AMERICA.  Edited,  with 
introduction  and  notes,  by  ALBERT  S.  COOK,  Ph.D.,  L.H.D., 
Professor  of  the  English  Language  and  Literature  in  Yale  University. 
With  Portrait  of  Burke. 

DE  QUINCEY'S  FLIGHT  OF  A  TARTAR  TRIBE.  Edited,  with  introduc 
tion  and  notes,  by  CHARLES  SEARS  BALDWIN,  Ph.D.,  Instructor  in 
Rhetoric  in  Yale  University.  With  Portrait  of  De  Quincey. 

TENNYSON'S  THE  PRINCESS.  Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by 
GEORGE  EDWARD  WOODBKKKY,  A.B.,  Professor  of  Literature  in 
Columbia  College.  With  Portrait  of  Tennyson. 

*$*  See  list  of  the  series  at  en  if  of  volume  for  books  prescribed  for 
i8gg  anil  /goo. 


LONGMANS'  ENGLISH  CLASSICS 

EDITED    BY 

GEORGE  RICE  CARPENTER,  A.B. 

PROFESSOR  OF  BUETORIC  AND  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION  IN  COLUMBIA  COLLEGE 


DANIEL  WEBSTER 


FIRST  BUNKER  HILL  ORATION 


LONGMANS'  ENGLISH  CLASSICS 

With  full  Notes,  Introductions,  bibliographies,  and  other  Explanatory  and 
Illustrative  Matter.    Crown  8vo.    Cloth. 


SHAKBPERE'S  MERC-KANT  OF  VBKICF.. 
Edited  by  Francis  B. Gummere.Ph.D., 
Professor  of  English  in  Haverford 
College. 

SHAKSPERE'S  As  You  LIKK  IT.  With 
an  Introduction  by  Barrett  Wendell, 
A.B.,  Assistant  Professor  of  English 
in  Harvard  University,  and  Notes  by 
William  Lyon  Phelps,  Ph.D  ,  Instruc- 
tor  in  English  Literature  in  Yale 
University. 

SHAKBPERE'S  A  MIDSUMMER  NIGHT'S 
DREAM.  Edited  by  George  Pierce 
Baker,  A.B.,  Assistant  Professor  of 
English  in  Harvard  University. 

SHAKSPERE'S  MACBETH,  Edited  by 
John  Matthews  Manly,  I'li.D.,  Pro 
fessor  of  the  English  Language  in 
Brown  University. 

MILTON'S  L'ALLEGHO,  IL  PENBEROSO, 
OOMUB,  AND  LTCIDAS.  Edited  by 
William  P.  Trent,  A.M.,  Professor  of 
English  in  the  University  of  the  South. 

MILTON'B   PARADISE   LOST.     BOOKS   I.  j 

AND  II.    Edited  by  Edward   Everett  ! 

Hale,  Jr.,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Rhetoric  j 
and  Logic  in  Union  College. 

POPE'S  HOMER'S  ILIAD.  BOOKS  I.,  I 
VI.,  XXII.,  AND  XXIV.  Edited  by  ; 
William  H.  Maxwell,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  I 

Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  Percival  Chubb, 
Instructor  in  English,  Manual  Training 
High  School,  Brooklyn. 

DEFOE'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAGUE  IN  i 
LONDON.  Edited  bv  Professor  G.  R.  I 
Carpenter,  of  Columbia  College. 

THE  SIR  ROGER  DE  COVERLET  PAPERS, 
from  "The  Spectator."  Edited  by 
D.  O.  S.  Lowell,  A.M.,  of  the  Roxbury 
Latin  School,  Roxbury,  Mass. 

GOLDSMITH'B  THE  VICAR  OK  WAKEFIEI.D. 
Edited  by  Mary  A.  Jordan,  A.M., 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Old  English 
in  Smith  College. 

BCBKE'S  SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATION  WITH 
AMERICA.  Edited  by  Albert  S.  Cook, 
Ph.D.,  L.H.D.,  Professor  of  the  Eng 
lish  Language  and  Literature  in  Yale 
University. 


SCOTT'S  WOODHTOCK.  Edited  by  Bliss 
Perry,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Oratory 
and  ^Esthetic  Criticism  in  Princeton 

•   College. 

SCOTT'S  MARMION-.  Edited  by  Robert 
Morss  Lovett,  A.B.,  Assistant  Pro 
fessor  of  English  in  the  University  of 
Chicago. 

MACAUI.AY'S  ESSAY  ON  MILTON.  Edited 
by  James  (ireenleaf  Croswell.  A. I?., 
Head-master  of  the  Brearlev  School. 
New  York,  formerly  Assistant  Pro 
fessor  of  Greek  in  Harvard  University. 

MACAtTLAY'B    LIFE  OF  SAMUEL   JOHNSON. 

Edited  by  the  Rev.  Huber  Gray 
Buehler,  of  the  Hotchkiss  School, 
Lakeville,  Conn. 

IRVING'S  TALES  OF  A  TRAVELLER.    With 

an  Introduction  by  Brander  Matthews, 
Professor  of  Literature  in  Columbia 
College,  and  Explanatory  Notes  by  the 
general  editor  of  the  series. 

WEBSTER'S  FIRST  BUNKF.R  HILL  ORA 
TION,  together  with  other  Addresses 
relating  to  the  Revolution.  Edited  by 
Fred  Newton  Scott,  Ph.D.,  Junior 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  in  the  University 
of  Michigan. 

COLERIDGE'S  THE  RIME  OF  THE  ANCIENT 
MARINER.  Edited  by  Herbert  Bates, 
A.B.,  formerly  Instructor  in  English 
in  the  University  of  Nebraska. 

SOUTHET'S  LIFE  OF  NELSON.  Edited  by 
Edwin  L.  Miller,  A.M..  of  the  Engle- 
wood  High  School,  Illinois. 

CARI.YLE'S  ESSAY  ON  BVRVS.  Ed'.ted 
by  Wilson  Farrand,  A.M.,  Associate 
Principal  of  the  Newark  Academy, 
Newark,  N.  J. 

DE  QCINCEY'B  FLIGHT  OF  A  TARTAR 
TRIBE  (REVOLT  OF  THF,  TARTARS*. 
Edited  by  Charles  Sears  Baldwin, 
Ph.D.,  Instructor  in  Rhetoric  in  Yale 
University. 

TENNYSON'S  THE  PRINTERS.  Edited  bv 
George  Edward  Woodberr>.  A.  B., 
Professor  of  Literature  in  Columbia 
College. 

GEORGE  ELIOT'S  SILAS  MARNER.  Edited 
by  Robert  Herrick,  A.B.,  Assistant 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  inthe  University 
of  Chicago. 


Other  Volumes  art  in  Preparation. 


DANIEL   WEBSTER 
(After  a  daguerreotype) 


'  English  Classics 


FIRST  BUNKER  HILL  ORATION 

TOO  ETHER  WITH  OTHER  ADDRESSES 
RELATING    TO    THE   REVOLUTION 

EDITED 

WITH   NOTES   AND   AN    INTRODUCTION 


FRED  NEWTON  SCOTT,  PH.D. 

JUNIOR  PROFESSOR  OF  RHETORIC  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  MICHIGAN 


L   **    C2 


NEW  YORK 
LONGMANS,    GREEN,   AND    CO. 

LONDON  AND  BOMBAY 
1896 


COPYRIGHT,  1895 

BY 
LONGMANS,  GREEN,  AND  CO. 


All  rights  reserved 


i'lEST  EDITION,  OCTOBER,  1896. 
REPRINTED  AuauiT,  1896. 


PREFACE 

Ix  the  uniform  entrance  requirements  now  generally 
adopted  by  our  colleges,  Webster's  "  First  Bunker  Hill 
Oration  "is  placed  among  the  books  which  are  to  be  '"care 
fully  studied  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the  teach 
er."  It  is  with  the  purpose  of  marking  out  distinct  lines 
for  such  study  that  this  edition  of  Webster's  famous  speech 
has  been  prepared.  Three  others  of  Webster's  best-known 
orations,  dealing  with  kindred  topics,  have  been  added, 
that  pupils'  training  may  not.  unless  it  is  absolutely  neces 
sary,  be  confined  to  the  single  oration  prescribed. 

F.  N.  S. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MICHIGAN,  September,  1895. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION ix 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS xxvi 

SPECIMEN  EXAMINATION  PAPEHS        .....         xxxv 

CHRONOLOGICAL  TAHLK        ........     xl 

ORATIONS 

The  Bunker  Hill  Monument          ......       1 

The  Completion  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument      .         .         .27 
Adams  and  Jefferson        ........     59 

The  Character  of  Washington  ......   104 

GKNKRAL  XOTI. 

A.  Suggestions  to  Students   .......  121 

B.  Subjects  for  Essays  ........   134 


INTRODUCTION 

I.  BIOGRAPHY 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  was  born  on  the  18th  of  January,  1782, 
and  died  on  the  24th  of  October,  1852.  We  may  say  that 
his  life  covers  one  distinct  period  of  the  nation's  life,  for 
lie  was  born  in  the  year  when  Great  Britain  recognized  the 
independence  of  the  United  States,  and  he  died  in  the 
year  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  the  year  when  anti-slavery 
sentiment  was  gathering  headway  for  the  inevitable  colli 
sion  of  the  Civil  War. 

Of  this  period  Webster  is  the  great  representative. 
There  were  men  among  his  contemporaries  who  were 
better,  wiser,  more  original,  more  popular  than  he,  but 
there  was  no  one  in  this  period  who  in  so  many  fields  of 
activity,  as  lawyer,  statesman,  and  orator,  can  rightfully 
claim  so  large  a  share  of  our  attention. 

Webster's  native  place  was  Salisbury,  New  Hampshire. 
His  early  life  was  passed  upon  his  father's  farm.  In  1797, 
with  very  little  preparation,  he  entered  Dartmouth  College, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1801.  Until  he  reached 
his  junior  year  he  gave  small  promise  of  the  powers  he 
afterward  developed.  We  read  with  astonishment  in  his 
"  Autobiography,"  that  while  a  youth  he  was  never  able  to 
"speak  a  piece "  before  the  school.  After  the  first  two 
years  at  Dartmouth,  however,  he  came  rapidly  forward, 
and  by  the  close  of  the  junior  year  was  esteemed  the  best 
writer  and  debater  in  the  College. 

Shortly  after  his  graduation,  Webster  entered  upon  the 


X  INTRODUCTION 

study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of  Christopher  Gore,  a  lead 
ing  attorney  of  Boston.  He  was  making  rapid  progress 
when  suddenly,  midway  of  his  studies,  came  one  of  those 
accidents  which  make  or  mar  a  young  man's  fortunes.  He 
\vas  offered  a  position  as  clerk  in  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  near  his  home,  at  a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars.  He  was  deeply  in  debt,  his  father  was  old,  and 
the  family  estate,  mortgaged  to  pay  his  college  expenses, 
was  heavily  encumbered.  ''I  had  felt,"  he  says,  '"the 
res  angusta  till  my  bones  ached."  To  accept  the  place 
meant  comfort,  a  competency,  and  respite  from  the  long, 
hard  struggle.  But,  as  Mr.  Gore  pointed  out  to  him,  it 
meant  also  the  death  of  his  ambitions  ;  he  would  be  a 
clerk  for  life.  Convinced  by  the  arguments  of  the  attor 
ney,  he  resolved  to  refuse  the  offer,  and  with  many  mis 
givings  went  home  to  break  the  news  to  his  father.  What 
happened  may  be  told  in  his  own  words  : 

"  I  got  home  one  afternoon,  just  at  sunset,  and  saw  my 
father  in  his  little  room,  sitting  in  his  arm-chair.  He  was 
pretty  old  then,  and  tall,  and  very  thin.  His  face  was 
pale,  and  his  cheek  sunken,  and  his  eyes — which  were 
always  large  and  very  black — seemed  larger  and  blacker 
than  I  ever  saw  them.  He  seemed  glad  to  see  me,  and, 
almost  as  soon  as  I  sat  down  he  said  :  "  Well,  Daniel,  we 
have  got  that  office  for  you.'  'Yes,  father,'  said  I,  "the 
gentlemen  were  very  kind,  I  must  go  and  thank  them  ! ' 

*  They  gave  it  to  you  without  my  saying  a  word  about  it.' 

*  I  must  go  and  see  Judge  Farrar,  and  tell  him  I  am  much 
obliged  to  him.'     And  so  I  talked  about  it  very  carelessly, 
and  tried  to  make  my  father  understand  me.     At  last  he 
began  to  have  some  suspicion  of  what  I  meant ;  and  he 
.straightened  himself  up  in  his  chair,  and  looked  at  me  as 
if  he  would  look  me  through.     '  Daniel,  Daniel,'  said  he, 
'don't    you    mean    to   take   that   office?'     '  Xo,    indeed, 
father,'  said  I ;  '  I  hope  I  can  do  much  better  than  that. 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

I  mean  to  use  my  tongue  in  the  courts,  not  my  pen  ;  to  be 
an  actor,  not  a  register  of  other  men's  acts.  I  hope  yet, 
sir,  to  astonish  your  honor  in  your  own  court  by  my  pro 
fessional  attainments.' 

•'  For  a  moment  I  thought  he  was  angry.  lie  rocked  his 
chair,  slightly  ;  a  flash  went  over  an  eye,  softened  by  age, 
but  still  as  black  as  jet ;  but  it  was  gone,  and  I  thought  I 
saw  that  parental  partiality  was,  after  all,  a  little  gratified 
at  this  apparent  devotion  to  an  honorable  profession,  and 
this  seeming  confidence  of  success  in  it.  Lie  looked  at  me 
for  as  much  as  a  minute,  and  then  said  very  slowly,  '  Well, 
my  son,  your  mother  has  always  said  you  would  come  to 
something  or  nothing.  She  was  not  sure  which  ;  I  think 
you  are  now  about  settling  that  doubt  for  her.'  This  he 
said,  and  never  a  word  spoke  more  to  me  on  the  subject."  1 

Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1805, he  went  to  Boscawen,  near  his 
home,  to  practise  ;  but  he  soon  outgrew  that  little  village, 
and  upon  the  death  of  his  father,  who  lived  barely  long 
enough  to  hear  his  first  speech  at  the  bar,  he  transferred 
his  business  to  his  brother  and  removed  to  Portsmouth. 
lie  now  came  into  almost  daily  competition  with  the  leading 
lawyers  of  the  State,  and  his  powers  grew  apace.  The  head 
of  the  New  Hampshire  bar  at  this  time  was  one  Jeremiah 
Mason,  a  man  of  great  ability.  He  has  recorded  his  first 
encounter  with  young  Webster:  ''lie  broke  upon  me  like 
a  thunder  shower  in  July,  sudden,  portentous,  sweeping 
all  before  it."  But,  in  his  own  way,  Mason  was  as  good  a 
lawyer  as  Webster,  and  exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon 
him.  In  particular,  he  taught  him  the  value  of  plain, 
homely  speech.  Webster  at  the  outset  of  his  career  was 
given  to  a  flowery  diction,  and  to  a  manner  that  bordered 
dangerously  on  the  theatrical.  Mason  was  plain,  simple, 
and  direct.  But  it  was  the  plain-spoken  Mason  who 
always  won  the  suit.  As  Webster  said,  he  was  "  a  cause- 
1  Curtis  :  Life  of  Webster,  vol.  i.,  p.  72. 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

getting  man."  "  He  had  a  habit  of  standing  quite  near  to 
the  jury,  so  near  that  he  might  have  laid  his  finger  on  the 
foreman's  nose  ;  and  then  he  talked  to  them  in  a  plain, 
conversational  way,  in  short  sentences,  and  using  no  word 
that  was  not  level  to  the  comprehension  of  the  least  edu 
cated  man  on  the  panel.  This  led  me  to  examine  my  own 
style,  and  I  set  about  reforming  it  altogether." 

In  1817,  feeling  that  he  needed  still  wider  opportunities, 
Webster  removed  to  Boston.  Meanwhile  he  had  been 
drawn  into  the  current  of  national  politics.  As  early  as 
1804,  while  yet  a  student  in  Mr.  Gore's  office,  he  had  pub 
lished  a  pamphlet  entitled  "An  Appeal  to  Old  Whigs." 
In  1808,  in  another  pamphlet,  he  had  inveighed  against 
the  embargo.  But  these,  being  anonymous,  had  not 
helped  to  bring  their  author  into  prominence.  His  op 
portunity  came  in  1812,  when  in  the  "  Rockingham  Me 
morial  "  he  made  a  spirited  and  able  argument  against  the 
war  with  England.  The  document  attracted  wide-spread 
interest,  and  led  almost  immediately  to  Webster's  election 
to  Congress.  His  rise  in  influence  was  now  rapid.  Some 
ingenious  resolutions  directed  against  the  foreign  policy  of 
President  Madison  brought  him  prominently  before  the 
country,  and  being  re-elected,  he  came  back  in  1814  the 
recognized  leader  of  his  party  in  the  House.  Again  he 
made  himself  conspicuous,  this  time  principally  by  his 
speeches  on  finance.  In  1817  he  tried  to  withdraw  from 
politics,  as  he  said,  forever.  He  determined  thereafter  to 
devote  himself  to  the  law.  But,  for  a  man  of  Webster's 
abilities,  this  was  simply  out  of  the  question.  "As  I  was 
sitting  in  my  office,  poring  over  Mansfield  and  Blackstone, 
in  the  autumn  of  1822,  there  came  a  committee  to  me. 
They  did  not  look  like  clients.  I  did  not  believe  they  had 
any  lawsuits.  Thomas  H.  Perkins  was  chairman.  An 
other  of  the  members  is  now  living — Mr.  William  Sturgis — 
and  they  stood  up  straight  in  my  presence.  I  threw  down 


INTRODUCTION  xm 

my  law  books,  and  they  said  :  '  Sir,  we  have  come  to  tell  you 
your  destiny.  You  must  give  up  these  law  books.  We  come 
to  tell  you  that,  on  Monday  next,  you  will  be  chosen  to  rep 
resent  the  city  of  Boston  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States.  We  come  to  make  no  request,  we  come  to  enter 
into  no  discussion,  we  take  no  answer ;'  and  Colonel  Perkins 
made  a  graceful  bow,  and,  with  his  committee,  went  off."1 

Webster  accepted  the  nomination,  and  from  this  date  to 
the  close  of  his  life  never  again  put  off  the  political 
harness.  Transferred  to  the  Senate  in  1827,  he  attained 
three  years  later,  in  the  debate  Avith  Hayne,  the  very  sum 
mit  of  his  renown.  In  1841,  President  Harrison  called 
him  to  the  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  State,  and  he  held  over 
under  President  Tyler  until  1843.  The  next  year  he  was 
elected  Senator,  but  in  1850  he  was  again  appointed  Secre 
tary  of  State,  a  position  which  he  held  in  1852,  when  at 
the  age  of  seventy,  his  public  career  and  his  life  came  to  a 
close  together. 

From  1830  Webster  was  looked  upon  as  a  possible  can 
didate  for  the  presidency.  He  eagerly  desired  the  nomi 
nation,  and  his  failure  to  obtain  it  embittered  the  closing 
years  of  his  life. 

As  a  lawyer,  Webster's  name  is  associated  with  many 
noted  cases,  but  with  none  of  more  wide-reaching  conse 
quences  than  the  Dartmouth  College  case.  The  occasion 
of  this  suit  was  as  follows  :2  The  president  of  Dartmouth 
College  quarrelled  with  the  trustees  and  was  dismissed 
from  office.  By  way  of  revenge  he  went  over  to  the  op 
posite  political  party — the  Democrats — and  brought  about 
the  election  of  a  Democratic  legislature.  To  pay  their 
political  debt,  the  legislature  set  aside  the  colonial  charter 
of  the  College,  passed  a  bill  turning  the  College  into  a 
State  university  and  provided  for  a  new  board  of  trustees  ; 

1  Speech  at  a  Public  Reception  in  Boston,  1852. 

*  I  follow  here  the  narrative  of  Lodge,  Daniel  Webster,  Chap.  iii. 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

whereupon  the  old  board,  composed  of  Federalists,  brought 
suit  against  the  new  board,  composed  of  Democrats,  to 
recover  the  College  seal  and  other  property.  The  case 
was  carried  up  to  the  Supreme  Court,  and  here,  in  181 H, 
Webster,  on  behalf  of  the  old  board  of  trustees,  made  his 
famous  speech.  As  it  happened,  the  Chief-Justice,  John 
Marshall,  was  a  leading  Federalist.  Webster  took  advan 
tage  of  this  fact,  and  by  introducing  the  political  aspects 
of  the  case,  but  doing  it  so  delicately  and  adroitly  that 
no  suspicion  was  aroused,  won  the  entire  sympathy  of 
the  Chief-Justice  and  ultimately  of  a  majority  of  the 
court.  As  a  result  Marshall  wrote  one  of  his  great  deci 
sions,  in  which,  embodying  a  minor  point  of  Webster's 
argument,  he  maintained  that  charters  granted  to  private 
corporations  are  contracts  within  the  meaning  of  the  con 
stitution,1  and  therefore  cannot  be  set  aside  by  the  legis 
lature  of  a  State.2  By  this  decision  more  than  by  any 
other  ever  made,  the  powers  of  the  several  States  were 
limited  and  those  of  the  Federal  Courts  extended. 

As  a  statesman,  Webster  exerted  a  powerful  influence 
upon  congressional  legislation  and  public  sentiment.  His 
congressional  speeches  upon  finance,  upon  the  tariff,  upon 
the  Constitution,  and  upon  the  extension  of  slavery,  were 
in  his  time,  and  are  now,  recognized  as  signal  events  in 
American  history  and  substantial  additions  to  American 
literature.  The  greatest  of  these  speeches  was  the  "  Re 
ply  to  Hayne."  It  was  the  outcome  of  a  controversy  as 
old  as  the  Union  itself,  with  regard  to  the  powers  of  the 
several  States  under  the  Federal  Constitution.  Three  dif 
ferent  views  had  been  held  by  political  leaders,  and  by 

1  "No  State     .     .     .     shall  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto 
law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of   contracts." — U.  S.  Constitu 
tion,  Art.  I.,  Sec.  X. 

2  The  constitutional  point,  oddly  enough,  originated  with  the  de 
posed  president,  who  was  thus  "hoist  with  his  own  petard." 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

them  impressed  upon  the  public  mind.  According  to  one 
view,  held  by  Jefferson  and  Madison,  and  embodied  in  the 
"Virginia  Resolutions/*  the  States  are  merely  parties  to  a 
compact — the  Constitution.  In  case  the  central  govern 
ment  oversteps  the  powers  conferred  by  the  States  upon 
it  in  the  compact,  the  States,  acting  in  unison,  have  the 
right  to  interfere  and  assert  their  original  sovereignty. 
This  doctrine,  as  set  forth  in  the  "  Virginia  Resolutions," 
was  comparatively  harmless,  for  the  States  were  expected 
in  taking  remedial  measures  to  act  in  concord  ;  there  was 
no  thought  of  a  disruption  of  the  Union.1  But  by  others, 
especially  by  Senator  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  it  was 
given  a  new  and  an  extreme  interpretation.  In  the  view 
of  these  men,  each  State  has  the  sovereign  right,  in 
the  absence  of  any  higher  authority,  to  judge  for  itself 
whether  congressional  legislation  encroaches  on  its  powers. 
Legislation  offensive  to  the  State  may  be  "  nullified  "  or 
declared  of  no  effect  within  its  borders.  If  this  measure 
fails,  the  State  has  the  right  to  secede  from  the  Union. 
These  views  having  been  advocated  on  the  floor  of  the 
Senate  by  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  of  South  Carolina,  Webster 
spoke  in  opposition  to  them  in  a  speech  remarkable  for  its 
logic,  its  satire,  its  pathos,  its  elevation  of  sentiment — in 
short,  for  every  good  quality  that  a  speech  can  possess. 
To  the  views  of  Hayne  he  opposed  the  "  national "  view, 
that  the  States  in  1787  were  welded  into  a  nation  by  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  and  were  thenceforward  one 
and  indivisible.  This  view  was  not  original  with  him. 
It  was  an  early  tradition  strengthened  and  made  clear  by 
the  decisions  of  Chief-Justice  Marshall.  It  was  not,  in 
deed,  the  correct  view,  for  our  oneness  as  a  nation  is  de 
pendent,  not  upon  a  written  document,  but  upon  the  de- 

1  This  is  not  the  common  view.  I  have  adopted  here  the  opinion 
expressed  by  Judge  T.  M.  Cooler,  in  a  recent  address  on  the  Web 
ster  Havne  Debate. 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

velopment  of  a  national  spirit.  But  whether  it  was  orig 
inal  or  not,  or  whether  it  was  correct  or  not,  the  "Reply 
to  Hayne  "  drove  it  deep  into  the  feelings  and  understand 
ings  of  the  great  mass  of  the  American  people ;  so  that 
the  war  of  arms  which  thirty  years  later  followed  the  war 
of  words,  found  the  sentiment  of  the  majority  upon  the 
side  of  union. 

At  various  times  throughout  his  life  Webster  was  called 
upon  to  make  commemorative  or  occasional  addresses. 
\Vhile  he  was  yet  a  student  at  Dartmouth,  in  1800,  he  was 
invited  by  the  people  of  the  town  of  Hanover  to  deliver 
an  oration  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  Nine  years  later,  be 
fore  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of  Dartmouth,  he  spoke 
on  "  The  State  of  our  Literature,"  giving  reasons  why 
America  should  be  a  centre  of  literary  activity.  But  these 
and  similar  efforts  attracted  little  attention.  The  address 
which  established  his  reputation  in  this  style  of  oratory 
was  that  which  goes  by  the  title  of  "  The  First  Settlement 
of  New  England,"  delivered  at  Plymouth  in  1820.  John 
Adams,  himself  no  mean  orator,  pronounced  it  finer  than 
anything  of  Burke's,  and  he  had  listened  to  Burke.  And 
George  Ticknor,  a  foremost  man  of  letters  of  the  time  and 
a  competent  critic,  wrote  that  he  was  "  never  so  excited  by 
public  speaking  before  in  his  life."  "  When  I  came  out," 
he  says,  "  I  was  almost  afraid  to  come  near  him.  It 
seemed  to  me  as  if  he  was  like  the  mount  that  might  not 
be  touched  and  that  burned  with  fire." 

Five  years  later,  with  somewhat  less  of  youthful  exu 
berance,  but  with  greater  command  of  his  resources,  Web 
ster  wrote  and  delivered  the  "First  Bunker  Hill  Oration." 
It  may  seem  strange  to  some  that  he  rated  this  speech, 
when  he  had  finished  the  composition  of  it,  as  little  better 
than  a  failure.  The  opening  was  not  to  his  taste  ;  he  was 
satisfied  with  nothing  except  the  address  to  the  veterans. 
To  a  friend  he  wrote  as  follows  : 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

"I  did  the  deed  this  morning,  i.e.,  I  finished  my 
speech  ;  and  I  am  pretty  well  persuaded  it  is  a  speech  that 
w\\\  finish  me,  as  far  as  reputation  is  concerned.  There  is 
no  more  tone  in  it  than  in  the  weather  in  which  it  has 
been  written;  it  is  'perpetual  dissolution  and  thaw.'"1 
He  was  wholly  mistaken.  The  address  was  not  only 
brilliantly  successful  on  the  immediate  occasion,  but  went 
through  edition  after  edition,  and  was  translated  into 
many  languages.  If  we  except  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  ad 
dress,  the  brevity  of  which  makes  comparison  unfair,  the 
"First  Bunker  Hill  Oration"  is  easily  the  first  of  com 
memorative  addresses,  ancient  or  modern,  American  or 
English. 

A  similar  misgiving  oppressed  him  with  regard  to  the 
eulogy  of  Adams  and  Jefferson,  delivered  in  1826  ;  and 
what  strikes  us  now  as  most  remarkable,  is  that  he 
doubted  the  effectiveness  of  the  two  fictitious  speeches 
which  reproduce  with  fine  dramatic  effect  the  debates  of 
the  Continental  Congress.  "  He  was  quite  uncertain,"  he 
said  to  a  friend,  "  whether  they  were  the  best  or  the  worst 
part  of  the  discourse."  Such  misjudgments,  however,  are 
not  uncommon  on  the  part  of  famous  writers,  being  simply 
evidences  of  the  insatiable  hunger  for  perfection  which 
characterizes  all  great  genius. 

"  The  Character  of  Washington,"  a  speech  in  his  best 
vein,  belongs  to  1832.  In  1843  he  gave  the  "  Second 
Bunker  Hill  Oration,"  an  address  inferior  in  unity  and 
spirit  to  the  first — he  was  too  old  for  such  an  occasion,  he 
said — yet  containing  single  passages  of  remarkable  force 
and  beauty.  His  last  speech  of  this  kind  was  at  the  laying 
of  the  corner-stone  of  the  addition  to  the  Capitol,  in  1851. 

1  Curtis  :  Life  of  Webster,  vol.  i.,  p.  251. 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 


II.  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  WEBSTER'S  ORATORY. 

The  effect  of  Webster's  oratory  was  due  in  part  to  his 
appearance  and  manner  of  delivery,  in  part  to  his  ideas,  in 
part  to  the  language  in  which  his  thoughts  were  clothed. 
Each  of  these  may  be  considered  in  turn. 

It  was  Webster's  good  fortune  that  in  his  outward  per 
son  he  was  as  near  perfection  as  nature  permits  her  chil 
dren  to  go.  "His  very  presence,"  said  a  New  England 
writer  who  had  no  reason  to  love  him,  "was  an  oration." 
"  Mr.  Webster  had  a  natural  ascendency  of  aspect  and  car 
riage,"  writes  Emerson,  "  which  distinguished  him  over 
all  his  contemporaries.  His  countenance,  his  figure,  and 
his  manners  were  all  in  so  grand  a  style,  that  he  was,  with 
out  effort,  as  superior  to  his  most  eminent  rivals  as  they 
were  to  the  humblest."1 

He  had  in  full  measure  the  indefinable  quality  known  as 
personal  magnetism,  so  that  literally,  by  a  smile,  or  a  ges 
ture,  or  by  his  mere  presence,  he  could  "hold  children 
from  play  and  old  men  from  the  chimney  corner."  "  When 
he  appeared  in  State  Street,  slowly  pacing,  with  an  arm  be 
hind  him,  business  was  brought  to  an  absolute  standstill. 
As  the  whisper  passed  along,  the  windows  filled  with  clerks, 
pen  in  mouth,  peering  out  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  man 
whom  they  had  seen  fifty  times  before."2 

In  stature  Webster  was  not  above  the  medium,  though, 
with  his  massive  limbs  and  stately  carriage,  he  impressed 
everyone  as  a  giant.  He  had  straight  black  hair,  eyes  that 
glowed  like  embers  under  his  jutting  brows,  and  a  com 
plexion  "of  burnt  gunpowder."  His  voice,  we  are  told, 
was  in  volume  and  quality  an  instrument  of  marvellous 
perfection.  "  It  was  low  and  musical  in  conversation  ;  in 

1  The  Fugitive  Slave  Law. 

*  Parton,  in  the  North  American  Review,  January,  1867. 


INTRODUCTION  Xix 

debate  it  was  high  but  full,  ringing  out  in  moments  of  ex 
citement  like  a  clarion,  and  then  sinking  to  deep  notes 
with  the  solemn  richness  of  organ-tones."  !  In  his  open- 
air  addresses  he  could  make  himself  heard  to  a  greater  dis 
tance  than  any  other  speaker  of  whom  we  have  trustworthy 
information. 

Upon  almost  all  topics  of  public  interest  Webster  had 
well-defined  convictions,  to  which  he  gave  in  his  speeches 
and  correspondence  almost  daily  utterance.  They  were  in 
general,  as  we  have  seen,  not  original  ideas.  Nor,  for  a 
man  in  his  position,  was  it  necessary  that  they  should  be. 
"  A  constitutional  statesman,'''  says  Walter  Bagehot,  "  is 
in  general  a  man  of  common  opinions  and  uncommon  abil 
ities."  Webster  had  uncommon  abilities  for  using  the 
ideas  of  other  men,  and  especially  for  divining  and  express 
ing  "common  opinions/"  ideas  held  by  the  people  at  large 
but  not  yet  come  to  utterance.  As  a  voice  for  the  com 
monalty  he  gave  expression  in  his  speeches  to  three  leading 
sentiments  :  one  was,  Our  nation  has  a  great  past  which 
has  made  us  what  we  are ;  the  second,  The  Union  must  be 
maintained  at  whatever  cost  ;  the  third,  We  have  a  sure  and 
splendid  future.  By  dwelling  upon  the  first,  as  in  the  two 
Bunker  Hill  addresses,  Webster  did  much  to  establish  in 
the  public  mind  what  is  termed  the  "  historic  conscious 
ness,"  an  abiding  sense  that  our  national  life  has  its  roots 
in  the  past  and  is  a  continuous  growth.  His  belief  in  the 
Union  amounted  to  a  passion.  "Union,"  he  said,  in  the 
second  Bunker  Hill  address,  "has  been  the  source  of  all 
our  glory  and  greatness  thus  far,  and  is  the  ground  of  all 
our  highest  hopes  ;  "  and  there  are  few  speeches  in  his  col 
lected  works  in  which  this  sentiment  does  not  appear. 
His  hopes  in  the  future  were  as  strong  as  his  reverence  for 
the  past.  He  was  an  optimist ;  that  is,  he  had  the  convic 
tion  that  the  tendency  of  human  events  is  toward  good  and 
1  Lodge  :  Daniel  Webster,  p.  192. 


IX  INTRODUCTION 

not  toward  evil.  He  never  doubted  for  an  instant  the 
permanence  and  the  ultimate  predominance  of  American 
ideas  and  institutions.  The  prophetic  strain  runs  through 
all  his  speeches,  and  reaches  a  climax  in  his  last  great  ad 
dress,  delivered  but  a  year  before  his  death.1 

In  style,  Webster  was  self-restrained,  orderly,  and  direct. 
Emerson  says  of  him  : 

"He  was  so  simple  and  wise  in  his  rhetoric;  he  saw  through  his 
matter,  hugged  his  fact  so  close,  went  to  the  principle  or  essential,  and 
never  indulged  in  a  weak  flourish,  though  he  knew  perfectly  how  to 
make  such  exordiums,  episodes,  and  perorations  as  might  give  perspec 
tive  to  his  harangues  without  in  the  least  embarrassing  his  march  or 
confounding  his  transitions.  In  his  statement  things  lay  in  daylight ; 
we  saw  them  in  order  as  they  were.  Though  he  knew  very  well  how 
to  present  his  own  personal  claims,  yet  in  his  argument  he  was  intel 
lectual, — stated  his  fact  pure  of  all  personality,  so  that  his  splendid 
wrath,  when  his  eyes  became  lamps,  was  the  wrath  of  the  fact  and 
the  cause  he  stood  for. 

"His  power,  like  that  of  all  great  masters,  was  not  in  excellent 
parts,  but  was  total.  He  had  a  great  and  everywhere  equal  propriety. 
He  worked  with  that  closeness  of  adhesion  to  the  matter  in  hand 
which  a  joiner  or  a  chemist  uses,  and  the  same  quiet  and  sure  feeling 
of  right  to  his  place  that  an  oak  or  a  mountain  have  to  theirs.  After 
all  his  talents  have  been  described,  there  remains  that  perfect  pro 
priety  which  aninvited  all  the  details  of  his  action  or  speech  with  the 
character  of  the  whole,  so  that  his  beauties  of  detail  are  endless.  He 
seemed  born  for  the  bar,  born  for  the  senate,  and  took  very  naturally 
a  leading  part  in  large  private  and  public  affairs  ;  for  his  head  distrib 
uted  things  in  their  right  places,  and  what  he  saw  so  well  he  com 
pelled  other  people  to  see  also."  2 

The  orderliness  of  Webster's  mind  is  exhibited  in  his 
paragraphing.  With  few  exceptions,  the  topics  of  the  par 
agraphs  are  logical  divisions  of  the  theme,  so  that  to  write 
a  list  of  paragraph-topics  is  to  make  an  analysis  of  the 
oration.  In  the  internal  structure  of  the  paragraph  unity 

1  The  address  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  addition  to  the 
Capitol. 

'l  The  Fuyitive  tSlace  Law. 


INTR  OD  UCTION  xxi 

is  carefully  maintained.  The  principal  thought  is  usually 
announced  in  the  opening  sentence,  and  is  then  developed 
in  regular  and  natural  sequence  to  the  close.  The  reader 
should  notice,  however,  that  within  the  limits  of  the  para 
graph,  Webster  artfully  varies  the  construction.  Exces 
sive  parallelism,  the  common  vice  of  oratorical  composi 
tions,  is  of  rare  occurrence.  In  the  "  First  Bunker  Hill 
Oration,"  there  are  but  two  paragraphs  in  which  parallel 
construction  is  made  prominent.1  In  the  remaining  para 
graphs  it  is  alternated  with  other  varieties  of  structure. 
Thus  paragraph  4  opens  with  an  inverted  sentence,  that  is, 
a  sentence  in  which  the  predicate  comes  before  the  subject. 
'•  Nearer  to  our  own  times,  more  closely  connected  with 
our  fates,  and  therefore  still  more  interesting  to  our  feel 
ings  and  affections,  is  the  settlement  of  our  own  country 
by  colonists  from  England."  Then  follows,  in  a  different 
type  of  sentence,  a  fine  example  of  parallel  construction. 
4 'We  cherish  every  memorial  of  these  worthy  ancestors  ; 
we  celebrate  their  patience  and  fortitude  ;  we  admire  their 
daring  enterprise  ;  we  teach  our  children  to  venerate  their 
piety  ;  and  we  are  justly  proud  of  being  descended  from 
men  who  have  set  the  world  an  example  of  founding  civil 
institutions  on  the  great  and  united  principles  of  human 
freedom  and  human  knowledge."  Here  the  parallelism, 
which  is  in  danger  of  becoming  monotonous,  is  interrupted 
by  an  inverted  sentence  :  "  To  us,  their  children,  the  story 
of  their  labors  and  sufferings  can  never  be  without  its  in 
terest."  The  fourth  sentence  recurs  to  the  structure  of 
the  second,  though  with  a  change  of  tense  :  "  We  shall 
not  stand  unmoved  on  the  shore  of  Plymouth,"  etc.,  but 
here  the  parallelism  ceases ;  the  closing  sentence  is  of  a 
different  type  :  "  No  vigor  of  youth,  no  maturity  of  man 
hood,  will  lead  the  nation  to  forget  the  spots  where  its  in 
fancy  was  cradled  and  defended." 

1  Paragraphs  7  and  44. 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

The  construction  of  Webster's  sentences  is  simple  and 
straightforward,  so  that  an  occasional  complexity  or  subt 
lety  attracts  an  undue  amount  of  attention.  The  follow 
ing  passage  will  illustrate  this  point :  "  Men  have  seen 
that  it  (classical  learning)  might  exist  without  mental 
superiority,  without  vigor,  without  good  taste,  and  with 
out  utility.  But  in  such  cases  classical  learning  has  only 
not  inspired  natural  talent."  l  The  words  "has  only  not 
inspired,"  which  in  Carlyle  or  De  Quincey  would  be  passed 
without  remark,  are  in  Webster's  paragraph  so  different 
from  his  ordinary  mode  of  expression  as  actually  to  arrest 
the  reader's  attention,  and  make  him  question  whether  he 
has  read  aright. 

In  the  placing  of  words  and  phrases  Webster  is  so  uni 
formly  accurate  that  if,  now  and  then,  he  transgresses  a 
precept  of  the  text-books,  the  reader  may  well  raise  the 
question  whether  the  precept  is  not  at  fault  rather  than  the 
author.  For  example,  there  is  a  rule  in  most  rhetorics 
that  the  word  "only"  should  immediately  precede  the 
word  it  modifies.  This  rule  is  obviously  violated  in  such 
sentences  as  the  following  :  "  It  did  not,  indeed,  put  an 
end  to  the  war  ;  but,  in  the  then  existing  hostile  state  of 
feeling,  the  difficulties  could  only  be  referred  to  the  arbi 
tration  of  the  sword."2  "  Above  personal  considerations, 
above  local  considerations,  above  party  considerations,  he 
felt  that  he  could  only  discharge  the  sacred  trust  which  the 
country  had  placed  in  his  hands  by  a  diligent  inquiry  after 
real  merit  and  a  conscientious  preference  of  virtue  and 
talent."3  But  it  is  the  rule  which  is  at  fault,  not  Web 
ster.  The  usage  of  good  writers  is  to  place  "  only  "  imme 
diately  before  the  word  it  modifies  whenever  another  posi 
tion  would  cause  ambiguity  ;  in  other  cases  its  position  is 

1  Adams  and  Jefferson,  paragraph  62. 

a  Second  Bunker  IWl  Oration,  paragraph  22. 

3  Character  of  Washington,  paragraph  2G. 


INTRODUCTION  xxiii 

determined  largely  by  the  demands  of  rhythm.  There  is  no 
ambiguity  in  the  sentences  quoted  above.  A  more  serious 
fault  is  the  use  of  "  but  which,"  "  and  which,"  when  there 
is  no  relative  preceding,  as  in  the  following  example  : 
"  You  see  the  lines  of  the  redoubt  thrown  up  by  the  in 
credible  diligence  of  Prescott ;  defended  to  the  last  ex 
tremity  by  his  lion-hearted  valor  ;  and  within  which  the 
corner-stone  of  our  monument  has  now  taken  its  position." l 
Yet  in  these  cases  it  is  clear  that  the  words  "thrown  up" 
and  "  defended  "  are  equivalent  to  the  clause  "which  were 
thrown  up,"  and  "  which  were  defended  ;"  nor  is  there  any 
evidence  that  to  a  hearer  or  reader  not  consciously  on  the 
strain  to  detect  formal  errors  of  construction,  this  passage 
has  ever  given  the  least  offence. 

In  his  selection  and  use  of  words  Webster  was  painfully 
scrupulous.  In  purity  of  diction  he  is  probably  unsur 
passed  by  any  other  writer,  English  or  American.  At  the 
same  time  he  was  anything  but  squeamish  about  the  origin 
of  the  words  he  used,  and  adopted  freely  the  forcible 
idioms  which  he  heard  on  the  lips  of  the  frontiersman. 
Although  his  orations  show  a  large  proportion  of  "long- 
tailed  "  words  of  Latin  origin — as  "recollections,"  "  pro 
pensity,"  "obligations,"  "inheritance,"  "responsibility," 
••preservation,"  "generation,"  "ingenuous,"  "construc 
tion."'  "  ejaculation,"  all  from  paragraph  5C  of  the  second 
Bunker  Mill  address — he  preferred  short  Saxon  words  and 
made  a  conscious  effort  to  employ  them. 

Webster's  self-restraint  appears  in  his  use  of  figures.  Of 
bold  and  striking  images  he  is  in  general  sparing.  His 
metaphors,  in  the  main,  are  of  that  class  which  by  constant 
use  have  been  worn  down  into  plain  statements.  More 
over,  he  prefers  what  may  be  called  the  "abstract"  meta 
phor,  in  which,  while  the  metaphorical  form  is  preserved, 
no  definite  picture  is  suggested  to  the  imagination.  He 
1  First  Bunker  Hill  Oration,  paragraph  25. 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

may  in  this  respect  be  profitably  contrasted  with  Carlyle. 
Thus  when  Webster  says  that  the  French  Revolution  "has 
shaken  to  the  centre  her  political  fabric  and  dashed  against 
one  another  thrones  which  have  stood  tranquil  for  ages," 
we  feel  the  appropriateness  of  the  figure,  but  have  much 
difficulty  in  picturing  to  ourselves  the  shaken  fabric  and 
the  jostling  thrones.  When,  however,  Carlyle  character 
izes  this  same  revolution  as  a  "  whole  continent  of  smoking 
flax  which  blown  on  here  or  there  by  any  angry  wind  might 
so  easily  start  into  a  blaze,  into  a  continent  of  fire,"  the 
scene  is  as  vivid  as  if  it  were  actually  before  our  eyes. 

A  peculiarity  of  Webster's  style  which  is  perhaps  the 
first  to  strike  the  reader's  attention,  will  here  be  considered 
last.  His  prose  has  a  well-marked  rhythm.  It  rises  and 
descends  in  a  way  to  remind  us  of  the  rise  and  descent  of 
a  graceful  bird  as  it  passes  through  the  air.  A  sentence, 
as  we  read,  will  mount  by  a  succession  of  wing-beats  to  a 
certain  elevation,  and  then,  in  similar  fashion,  will  descend 
gently  to  the  close.  The  following  is  a  good  example  of  this 
movement  in  a  long  sentence  :  "  These  thousands  of  human 
faces  |  glowing  with  sympathy  and  joy  |  and  from  the  im 
pulses  of  a  common  gratitude  |  turned  reverently  to  heaven 
|  in  this  spacious  temple  of  the  firmament  ||  proclaim  that 
the  day  |  the  place  |  and  the  purpose  of  our  assembling 
V  |  have  made  a  deep  impression  on  our  hearts."1  Some 
times  the  rise  is  in  one  sentence,  the  descent  in  the  next ; 
or  the  rise  in  a  succession  of  sentences,  the  descent  in  an 
other  succession  ;  these  variations  giving  to  the  movement 
a  peculiar  character  too  complex  to  be  analyzed  here,  which 
for  convenience  may  be  called  Webster ian.  In  general 
this  undulating  movement  of  the  sentence  is  wholly  natu 
ral  to  Webster.  The  "long,  rolling,  rhythmical  wave-pro 
cession  "  in  the  writing  is  the  outward  sign  of  a  long,  roll- 

1  The  single  vertical  lines  indicate  the  stages  of  the  rise  and  descent  ; 
the  double  lines,  the  point  of  greatest  elevation. 


INTRODUCTION  xxv 

ing  rhythmical  thought-procession  in  the  writer.  But  not 
always  so.  There  come  passages  now  and  then  when  the 
majestic  tread  of  the  solemn  period  marks  time  without  ad 
vancing.  An  example  occurs  in  the  first  Bunker  Hill  ad 
dress  :  "  Mind  is  the  great  lever  of  all  things  ;  human 
thought  is  the  process  by  which  human  ends  are  ultimately 
answered  ;  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  so  astonishing 
in  the  last  half-century,  has  rendered  innumerable  minds, 
variously  gifted  by  nature,  competent  to  be  competitors  or 
fellow-workers  on  the  theatre  of  intellectual  operation." 
But  such  passages  are  rare. 

To  beginners  the  temptation  to  imitate  the  Websterian 
movement  in  their  orations  is  well-nigh  irresistible.  Once 
they  have  caught  the  trick  of  Webster's  rhythm  they  fancy 
they  have  surprised  the  secret  of  his  style.  But  he  who 
writes  successfully  in  the  Websterian  rhythm  must  be  him 
self  a  Webster.  The  student  whose  mind  is  not  obviously 
akin  to  Webster's  mind,  whose  thoughts  do  not  come  in 
long,  rolling  waves,  will  find  it  best,  after  a  few  trials  and 
experiments,  to  cultivate  a  rhythm  of  his  own. 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  TEACHERS 

Ix  preparing  the  present  volume,  the  first  of  the  series 
of  books  for  ''study,"  the  editor  has  had  one  aim  in  com 
mon  with  the  editors  of  books  for  '•'  reading,"  and  one  aim 
that  is  different  from  theirs.  Like  them  lie  lias  made 
some  attempt  to  lead  the  student  on  to  read  other  works — 
in  this  case,  other  orations — of  the  same  sort  and  of  cog 
nate  sorts  ;  but,  bearing  in  mind  that  this  is  a  book  to 
be  studied,  not  simply  to  be  read,  he  has  endeavored 
less  to  throw  information  in  the  student's  way — the  task 
of  preceding  editors — than  to  show  him  how,  and  from 
what  sources,  he  may  get  information  for  himself.  In 
pursuance  of  both  these  aims — but  especially  of  the  second 
— the  editor  now  offers,  in  the  following  paragraphs,  a  few 
suggestions  as  to  a  proper  method  of  study — suggestions 
which  he  ventures  to  address  to  experienced  teachers  only 
because,  in  the  present  state  of  interest  in  the  subject, 
every  chance  hint  is  sure  of  attentive  and  charitable  con 
sideration. 

I.  The  first  task  assigned  the  pupil  should  be  to  read 
the  oration  as  a  whole.  The  reading  should  be  of  a  kind 
which,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  may  be  called  i may i na 
tive  ;  that  is,  the  pupil  should  picture  the  scene  to  him 
self  as  he  goes  along,  and  should  try  to  call  up  in  imagina 
tion  such  particulars  as  the  orator's  appearance,  the  sound 
of  his  voice,  and  the  effect,  upon  the  audience,  of  each 
striking  passage.  If  the  oration  can  be  read  at  home — 
and  this  is  generally  to  be  preferred — the  pupil  should  be 
advised  to  read  aloud.  lie  should  be  advised  also  to  finish 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR   TEACHERS  xxvii 

it  at  one  sitting,  for  then  the  impression  which  he  carries 
away  from  it  is  more  likely  to  have  unity  and  complete 
ness. 

For  reading  of  this  kind  no  special  preparation  is  re 
quired.  The  judicious  teacher  will  help  his  pupils  realize 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  oration  was  delivered, 
and  will  thus  endeavor  to  awake  in  them  some  degree  of 
curiosity.  But  beyond  this  point  he  will  not  choose  to  go. 
He  will  be  especially  careful  not  to  forestall  his  pupils'  im 
pressions  by  elaborate  criticism  or  to  wear  out  their  interest 
by  unimportant  details  of  biography.  As  soon  as  he  feels 
that  they  are  eager  to  begin,  he  will  step  aside  and  leave 
them  to  the  oration  and  their  instincts. 

II.  Notwithstanding  the  informality  of  this  first  exer 
cise,  its  results  should  be  carefully  tested  in  the  class-room. 
By  requiring  of  the  pupils  brief,  impromptu  essays  or  ver 
bal  reports,  the  teacher  should  assure  himself  that  each 
member  of  the  class  has  actually  read  the  whole  oration, 
has  obtained  a  general  notion  of  its  plan  and  contents,  and 
has  appreciated  in  some  measure  the  peculiar  qualities  of 
the  style.  The  desired  information  may  be  drawn  out 
from  the  pupils  by  asking  questions  like  the  following  : 
What  parts  of  the  oration  do  you  remember  most  dis 
tinctly  ?  What  parts  do  you  think  are  the  best,  and  why 
do  you  think  they  are  the  best  ?  What  is  the  leading  idea 
of  the  opening  ?  What  the  leading  idea  of  the  close  ? 
What  is  the  most  important  idea  of  the  whole  oration  ? 
Does  the  oration  prove  anything  ?  Can  you  see  any  dif 
ference  between  the  style  of  Webster  and  the  style  of  Ir 
ving  (or  of  any  other  author  that  has  been  read)  ?  What 
effect  do  you  think  such  and  such  a  passage  had  upon  the 
audience  ?  The  answers  to  questions  like  these  will  not 
only  reveal  the  spirit  in  which  the  oration  has  been  read, 
but  will  put  into  the  hands  of  the  teacher  suggestions  for 
the  further  conduct  of  the  course. 


xxviii  SUGGESTIONS  FOR   TEACHERS 

III.  When,  by  the  means  suggested  above,  the  teacher 
has  made  certain  that  his  pupils  have  obtained  a  broad, 
general  survey  of  the  oration,  he  should  pass  to  a  study  of 
its  plan  and  structure.  First,  in  this  part  of  the  work, 
should  come  the  deduction  of  the  theme  or  working-idea. 
This  may,  indeed,  be  given,  but  there  is  a  distinct  advan 
tage  in  drawing  it  out  from  the  pupils  themselves,  by  the 
following  or  a  similar  method. 

Selecting  a  number  of  important  passages,  the  teacher 
reads  them  one  by  one  to  the  class,  inquiring  after  each  : 
"  AVhat  is  Webster  talking  about  in  this  passage  ?  What 
does  he  mean  ?  What  is  he  driving  at  ?  "  The  answers 
are  written  upon  the  board  in  the  form  of  complete  sen 
tences.  When  all  have  been  thus  written,  the  teacher 
asks,  "  Can't  you  boil  these  sentences  down  into  one  sen 
tence  ?  Isn't  there  some  one  thing  that  Webster  is  talk 
ing  about  through  the  whole  course  of  the  oration  ? " 
From  the  answers  to  these  last  questions  it  will  generally 
be  possible  to  educe  a  provisional  theme.  The  exact  theme 
may  now  be  given,  or  better,  the  pupil  may  be  required  to 
construct  it  for  himself  from  the  provisional  theme  by  a 
re-reading  of  the  entire  oration.  To  illustrate  this  method 
of  instruction,  let  us  consider  briefly  the  fourth  of  the 
orations  in  this  volume.  In  response  to  questions  regard 
ing  the  underlying  idea  of  various  passages  from  "  The 
Character  of  Washington,"  the  following  answers  might 
be  expected  :  "  Washington's  example  has  had  a  great  in 
fluence  "  (paragraph  6)  ;  "  Washington  did  a  great  deal  to 
establish  popular  government"  (pars.  9.  10)  ;  "Washing 
ton's  influence  has  extended  over  the  whole  world  "  (pars. 
12,  13)  ;  "The  principles  of  Washington's  administration 
were  right"  (par.  17)  ;  "  Washington's  example  will  pre 
serve  the  Union"  (pars.  34,  35).  Putting  these  together, 
pupils  would  probably  suggest,  as  the  idea  underlying  them 
all,  such  sentiments  as  the  following  :  "  Washington  was 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR    TEACHERS  XXIX 

a  great  man  ;  "  "  Washington  was  a  good  man  and  a  great 
statesman  ; "  "  Washington's  example  has  made  the  whole 
world  better  ; ''  "  The  prosperity  of  the  United  States  is 
the  result  of  Washington's  statesmanship."  From  these  a 
provisional  theme  could  readily  be  drawn. 

IV.  Passing  now   to  a  consideration  of   the  plan,  the 
teacher  should  call  attention  to  the  organic  character  !  of 
the  oration — "the  method  of  evolution — the  proportions, 
the  relations  of  the  parts  to  the  whole. "'     He  should  ex 
plain  the  nature  of  the  large  divisions,  indicated  in  this 
volume  by  Roman  numerals,  and  should  require  the  lead 
ing  thought  of  each  division  to  be  expressed  in  a  brief, 
carefully  worded  sentence.     By  throwing  all  these  sentences 
together,  and  using  them  as  an  outline,  he  should  then  try 
to  make  it  clear  that  the  themes  of  the'large  divisions  grow 
naturally  from  the  general  idea  of  the  oration.     The  order 
of  divisions  should  be  commented   upon,  and   the  pupil 
should  be  led  to  the  conviction  that  their  arrangement, 
far  from  being  the  result  of  chance,   is  a  sequence  de 
manded  by  the  onward  movement  of  the  writer's  thought. 

V.  The  paragraphs  should  be  studied  as  members  of  di 
visions.     The  pupil  should  be  made  to  see  that  in  a  given 
division  each  paragraph  belongs  in  the  place  where  it  is  : 
that  in  that  place  it  performs  a  necessary  function  ;  that  if 
it  be  omitted,  or  shifted  to  another  place,  the  unity  and 
sequence  of  the  division  will  be  seriously  disturbed.     It  is 
also  important  that  the  internal  structure  of  the  paragraph 
receive    careful    attention.     The    pupil    should    be    made 
familiar  with  the  results  of  recent  studies  of  this  subject, 

1  "The  teaclipr  should  bear  in  mind  that  any  body  of  written  Eng 
lish,  of  whatever  length .  is  an  organic  unit,  with  principles  that  apply 
as  well  to  the  arrangement  of  the  minor  elements  as  to  the  grouping 
of  larger  divisions  of  the  essay  or  book."—  Report  of  the  Committee  on 
Secondary  School  Studies,  p.  95. 

1  Matthew  Arnold,  On  the  Literary  Influence  of  Academies. 


XXX  SUGGESTIONS  FOR    TEACHERS 

and  such  matters  as  the  topic-sentence,  methods  of  devel 
opment,  "  massing  "  of  the  important  ideas,  and  the  like, 
should  be  illustrated  until  they  are  clearly  understood  and 
their  practical  importance  is  appreciated.  Analyzing  par 
agraphs  sentence  by  sentence  will  be  found  a  profitable  ex 
ercise.  To  illustrate,  if  the  second  paragraph  of  the  first 
Bunker  Hill  address  is  under  consideration,  an  analysis 
may  be  made  similar  to  the  following.  The  first  sentence 
of  the  paragraph  continues  the  thought  of  the  preceding 
sentence,  and  contains  the  topic  to  be  developed  :  "It  is 
natural  that  the  local  associations  should  impress  us 
deeply."  In  sentences  2  and  3  these  local  associations  arc 
specified  :  "  We  are  among  the  graves,  we  are  on  the  bat 
tle-ground."  Sentence  4  presents  in  obverse  an  idea 
which  in  its  positive  form  is  repeated  in  sentence  o  : 
"The  date  and  place  cannot  be  made  memorable  (by  the 
monument)  ;  they  are  already  memorable."  (Compare 
with  this  the  expression  of  the  same  idea  in  Lincoln's 
"  Gettysburg  Address  :  "  "We  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot 
consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave 
men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated 
it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or  detract.'")  Sentence  <i 
begins  with  an  adversative  conjunction,  which  seems  to  in 
dicate  a  contrast  with  some  preceding  sentence  or  with  the 
preceding  portion  of  the  paragraph  ;  but  to  discover  the 
contrasting  ideas  is  at  first  a  little  difficult.  Is  the  idea 
denoted  by  the  word  "  Americans  "  set  over  against  some 
such  idea  as  "  men  of  other  nations,"  "  the  world  at  large," 
implied  in  "subsequent  history"  and  "successive  genera 
tions  ?"  Reading  the  whole  paragraph  to  get  the  connec 
tion,  we  see  that  this  interpretation  cannot  be  the  true  one. 
What  is  more  likely  is  that  the  conjunction  "  but,"  instead 
of  being  a  true  adversative,  is  merely  a  device  for  indicat 
ing  that  the  thought  of  the  paragraph,  switched  off  in  sen 
tences  4  and  5,  has  now  returned  to  the  main  line.  This 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR   TEACHERS  xxxi 

view  is  rendered  plausible  by  the  sentences  that  follow. 
Sentence  7  and  the  first  two  clauses  of  sentence  8  continue 
the  idea  of  sentence  6,  giving  reasons  why  it  is  natural 
that  the  local  associations  should  be  impressive.  The  last 
clause  of  sentence  8,  drawing  a  conclusion  from  these  rea 
sons,  at  the  same  time  repeats  the  thought  of  sentence  1, 
and  so  brings  the  paragraph  to  a  fitting  close. 

VI.  In  the  study  of  sentences  the  starting-point  should 
be   the  paragraph.      The   character  of  the  sentence — its 
length,  its  kind,  the  arrangement  of  its  parts — should  be 
accounted  for  on  the  principle  of  adaptation  to  its  place  in 
the  larger  unit  of  discourse. 

VII.  The   same  principle  may  also  be  applied  to  the 
study  of  words.     A  word  in  one  of  these  orations  is  best 
studied  as  a  part  of  the  sentence  in  which  it  actually  oc 
curs.     When  the  pupil,  for  example,  comes  upon  the  word 
"respectable"  in   paragraphs   16    and    50   of   the   second 
Bunker  Hill  address,  the  teacher's  first  question  should 
not  be  as  to  the  etymology  of  the  word,  nor  even  as  to  its 
definition  in  an  unabridged  dictionary,  but  rather  as  to  the 
idea  that  Webster  in  this  sentence  probably  wishes  to  ex 
press.     Let  the  pupil  first  endeavor  to  determine  for  him 
self  the  quality  which   Webster  desires  to  contrast  with 
"grandeur"'   in  one   sentence,   and  with  "  happiness"  in 
the    other.     When   these  questions   have  been  answered, 
rightly  or  wrongly,  the  dictionary  will  be  consulted  with 
increased  interest  and  profit. 

VIII.  In  the  study  of  figures  of  speech,,  upon  which  in 
some  schools  much  emphasis  is  laid,  time  will  be  spent 
most  advantageously  if  it  is  given  to  learning  their  func 
tions  and  values  rather  than  to  learning  their  classes.     If 
the  teacher,  for  example,  devotes  an  hour  to  the  question 
why  "'spacious  temple  of  the  firmament,"  in  the  opening 
paragraph  of  the  first  Bunker   Hill  address,  is  preferable 
in  that  place  to  '"spacious  firmament"  or  "spacious  tern- 


xxxii  SUGGESTIONS  FOR   TEACHERS 

pie-like  firmament/''  and  why,  in  the  third  paragraph  of 
"The  Character  of  Washington,"  the  images  do  not  pro 
duce  the  effect  of  mixed  metaphor,  he  will  probably  do  his 
pupils  greater  service  than  by  spending  the  same  amount 
of  time  in  teaching  them  to  identify  all  the  synecdoches 
and  metonymies  in  all  the  four  orations. 

IX.  The  study  of  the  author's  biography,,  which  may  be 
pursued  at  the  same  time  with  the  study  of  the  orations, 
is  most  conveniently  carried  on  as  a  part  of  the  work  in 
composition.     Each  student  may  be  required  to  write  sev 
eral  biographical  essays.     They  should   be   written   upon 
limited  topics,  similar  to   those  suggested   in  the  General 
Note  (§§  23-25),  and  should  never  be  longer  than  two  or 
three  hundred  words.     In  the  preparation  of  them,  pupils 
should  be  led  to  consult  as  many  sources  as  may  be  available. 

X.  The  subject-matter  of  the  oration  should  be  studied 
systematically.     Instead  of  fitting  dates  to  historical  allu 
sions  and  collecting  odds  and  ends  of  information  about 
the  names  mentioned  in  the  text,  the  pupil  should  endeavor 
to  take  stock  of  the  orator's  ideas.     He  should  try  to  ar 
range  in  a  systematic  way  the  materials  out  of  which  the 
oration   was  constructed.     The  principles    which    in    the 
course  of  the  oration  are  expounded  or  implied  should  be 
separated  from  the  facts  used  to  enforce  them.     Webster's 
views  in  regard  to  patriotism,  union,  the  relation  of  knowl 
edge   to  liberty,   self-government,   and  non  -  interference, 
should  be  gathered  from  his  speeches  and  stated  briefly  in 
the  pupil's  own  words.     The  facts  of  history,  on  the  other 
hand — the  discovery  of  America,  the  voyages  of  the  Cabots, 
the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  the  battles  of  the  Revolution, 
the  promulgation  of  the   Monroe   Doctrine— may  be  ar 
ranged  in  chronological  order  in  tables  similar  to  those  on 
pages  xl.-xliii.  of  this  volume. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — On  the  characteristics  of  oratory  and 
the  nature  of  an  oration  the  student  may  consult  Genung's 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR   TEACHERS  xxxiii 

"  Practical  Rhetoric,"  pp.  408-474  ;  Hart's  "  Handbook  of 
English  Composition  and  Rhetoric,"  pp.  314-322  ;  and 
Newcomer's  "English  Composition/"  pp.  183-205.  There 
is  an  interesting  chapter  on  American  oratory  in  Bryce's 
"  American  Commonwealth/"  Ft.  vi.,  and  a  few  paragraphs 
on  commemorative  oratory  in  Curtis's  "Life  of  Webster/" 
vol.  i.,  pp.  190-195.  The  plan  and  the  theme  arc  treated 
in  their  details  in  Genung's  "  Practical  Khetoric,"  pp. 
248-301,  and  more  generally  in  Wendell's  "  English  Com 
position/"  pp.  150-192  ;  McElroy's  "  Structure  of  English 
Prose,"  pp.  227-234;  and  Carpenter's  "Exercises  in 
Rhetoric/"  chapter  xiii.  To  the  structure  and  function  of 
the  paragraph  much  attention  has  recently  been  paid. 
Full  information  upon  this  subject  will  be  found  in  the 
following  works  :  Bain's  "  English  Composition  and  Rhet 
oric/''  vol.  i.,  pp.  91-134;  McElroy's  "Structure  of  Eng 
lish  Prose/'  pp.  196-222;  Minto's  "Manual  of  English 
Prose,"  pp.  89-9?  (in  the  American  edition)  ;  (Joining's 
"Practical  Rhetoric,"  pp.  193-213;  Hart's  "English 
Composition  and  Rhetoric,"  chapters  ii.  and  iv.  ;  Carpen 
ter's  "  Exercises  in  Rhetoric,"  chapter  x.  ;  A.  S.  Hill's 
"Principles  of  Rhetoric"  (Revised  edition),  pp.  230-238; 
Wendell's  "English  Composition,"  pp.  114-149;  and  in 
Scott  and  Denney's  "  Paragraph- Writing. "  The  analyses 
of  Macaulay's  paragraphs  in  Minto's  "  Manual "  are  es 
pecially  to  be  commended.  For  helpful  chapters  on  sen 
tences  and  words  reference  may  be  made  to  the  works  of 
Bain,  Wendell,  Carpenter.  A.  S.  Hill.  McElroy,  Hart,  and 
Genung,  and  to  Longmans' "  School  Composition."  The 
relation  of  the  sentence  to  the  paragraph  is  treated  with 
some  fulness  in  Scott  and  Denney's  "  Paragraph-Writing," 
pp.  30-47. 

A  method  of  analysis  similar  to  that  outlined  above  is 
presented  in  a  little  pamphlet,  entitled  "  Esquisse  d'une 
Methode  generale  de  preparation  et  d'explication  des 


xxxiv  SUGGESTIOXK  FOR   TEACHERS 

Auteurs  franyais/'  by  Gustave  Allais  (Paris,  1884).  The 
editor  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  M.  Allais,  although 
the  pamphlet  did  not  come  to  the  editor's  attention  until 
after  he  had  developed,  independently,  and  applied  to  some 
extent  in  his  teaching,  its  fundamental  principles. 

For  books  on  the  life  of  Webster  and  upon  the  subject- 
matter  of  the  orations,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  General 
Note  at  the  close  of  the  volume. 


SPECIMEN  EXAMINATION  PAPERS 

Ix  order  that  teachers  may  know  what  results  are  ex 
pected  from  the  lines  of  study  marked  out  in  the  foregoing 
"Suggestions,"  a  few  specimen  examination  papers  are 
here  appended.  For  obvious  reasons,  the  topics  are  from 
the  "  First  Bunker  Hill  Oration  "  only.  In  practice  these 
would  of  course  be  supplemented  by  alternative  topics 
from  other  books. 

I. 

(Directions  :  1.  Put  your  name  in  the  upper  right-hand 
corner  of  each  sheet.  2.  Use  only  one  side  of  the  paper. 
3.  Write  plainly.  4.  Pay  attention  to  punctuation,  capital 
izing,  sentence-structure,  paragraphing,  etc.,  in  all  that 
you  write.) 

A. 

(five  in  narrative  form  a  short  account  of  your  prepa 
ration  in  English.  State  (1)  the  school  you  attended, 
(•>)  the  time  spent  upon  English  studies,  (3)  the  number  of 
essays  written.  (-i)  the  text-books  used,  (5)  the  books  read 
in  connection  with  the  English  courses,  (6)  any  exercises 
or  methods  of  instruction  that  were  particularly  profitable 
or  unprofitable. 

B. 

(Par.  8.)  '•  We  live  in  a  most  extraordinary  age.  Events  so  various 
and  so  important  that  they  might  crowd  and  distinguish  centuries,  are 
in  our  times  compressed  within  the  compass  of  a  single  life. 

(Par.  11.  "  Yet,  notwithstanding  that  this  is  but  a  faint  abstract  of 
the  things  which  have  happened  since  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  we  are  but  fifty  years  removed  from  it,"  etc. 


xxxvi         SPECIMEN  KXAMISAT10X  PAPERS 

Give  in  your  own  words  a  "faint  abstract"  of  the 
"events  "  and  "  things  "  referred  to  in  paragraphs  8  and  11. 

C. 

What  facts  in  Webster's  life  bear  out  or  refute  Thoreau's 
judgment  of  him  :  "  His  quality  is  not  wisdom,  but  pru 
dence." 

D. 

Why  may  not  sentence  4  of  the  following  paragraph  be 
omitted  ?  Show,  by  an  analysis,  that  it  is  necessary  to  the 
proper  development  of  the  theme. 

1.  ''  We  may  hope  that  the  growing  influence  of  enlightened  senti 
ment  will  promote  the  permanent  peace  of  the  world.  2.  Wars  to 
maintain  family  alliances,  to  uphold  or  to  cast  down  dynasties,  and 
to  regulate  successions  to  thrones,  which  have  occupied  so  much 
room  in  the  history  of  modern  times,  if  not  less  likely  to  happen  at 
all,  will  be  less  likely  to  become  general  and  involve  many  nations, 
as  the  great  principle  shall  be  more  and  more  established,  that  the 
interest  of  the  world  is  peace,  and  its  first  great  statute,  that  every 
nation  possesses  the  power  of  establishing  a  government  for  itself. 

3.  But  public  opinion  has  attained  also  an  influence  over  governments 
which  do  not  admit  the  popular  principle    into  their   organization. 

4.  A   necessary  respect  for    the  judgment  of  the  world  operates,  ill 
some  measure,  as  a  control  over  the  most  unlimited  forms  of  authority. 
fi.   It  is  owing,  perhaps,  to  this  truth   that  the  interesting  struggle  of 
the  Greeks  has  been  suffered  to  go  on  so  long,  without  a  direct  inter 
ference,  either  to   wrest  that  country  from   its  present  masters,  or  to 
execute  the  system  of  pacification  by  force  ;  and,  with  united  strength, 
lay  the  neck  of  Christian  and  civilized   Greek  at  the  foot  of  the  bar 
barian  Turk.     0.   Let  us  thank  God  that  we  live  in  an  age  when  some 
thing  has  influence  besides  the  bavonet,  and  when  the  sternest  authority 
does  not  venture  to  encounter  the  scorching  power  of  public  reproach. 
7.   Any  attempt  of  the  kind  I  have  mentioned  should  be  met  by  one 
universal  burst  of  indignation  :  the  air  of  the  civilized  world  ought  to 
be  made  too  warm  to  be  comfortably  breathed  by  any  one  who  would 
hazard  it." 


SPECIMEN  EXAMINATION  PAPERS        XXXvii 

II. 

[Note  and  Question  A  as  in  I.] 

B. 

Give  a  running  abstract  of  the  "  First  Bunker  Hill  Ora 
tion,"  indicating  the  effect  of  each  part  upon  the  feelings 
of  the  audience. 

C. 

Emerson  speaks  of  the  "  want  of  generalization  "  in  Web 
ster's  speeches,  and  says  that  "  there  is  not  a  single  general 
remark,  not  an  observation  on  life  and  manners,  not  an 
aphorism,  that  can  pass  into  literature  from  his  writings." 
Criticise  this  statement,  and  illustrate  from  the  "First 
Bunker  Hill  Oration." 

D. 

Name  the  office  which  each  of  the  following  sentences 
has  in  the  development  of  the  paragraph-topic.  State  in  a 
single  sentence  the  main  idea  of  the  paragraph. 

1.  "  It  need  not  surprise  us,  that,  under  circumstances  less  auspi 
cious  political  revolutions  elsewhere,  even  when  well  intended,  have 
terminated  differently.  2.  It  is,  indeed,  a  great  achievement,  it  is  the 
masterwork  of  the  world,  to  establish  governments  entirely  popular 
on  lasting  founda  ions  ;  nor  is  it  easy,  indeed,  to  introduce  the  popular 
principle  at  all  into  governments  to  which  it  has  been  altogether  a 
stranger.  3.  It  cannot  be  doubted,  however,  that  Europe  has  come 
out  of  the  contest,  in  which  she  has  been  so  long  engaged,  with  greatly 
superior  knowledge,  and,  in  many  respects,  in  a  highly  improved 
condition.  4.  Whatever  benefit  has  been  acquired  is  likely  to  be  re 
tained,  for  it  consists  mainly  in  the  acquisition  of  more  enlightened 
ideas.  5.  And  although  kingdoms  and  provinces  may  be  wrested 
from  the  hands  that  hold  them,  in  the  same  manner  they  were  ob 
tained  ;  although  ordinary  and  vulgar  power  may,  in  human  affairs, 
be  lost  as  it  has  been  won  ;  yet  it  is  the  glorious  prerogative  of  the 
empire  of  knowledge,  that  what  it  gains  it  never  loses.  6.  On  the 
contrary,  it  increases  by  the  multiple  of  its  own  power;  all  its  ends 
become  means ;  all  its  attainments  help  to  new  conquests  7.  Its 
whole  abundant  harvest  is  but  so  much  seed  wheat,  and  nothing  has 
limited,  and  nothing  can  limit,  the  amount  of  ultimate  product.  " 


SPECIMEN  EXAMINATION  PAPERS 

III. 

[Note  and  Question  A  as  in  I.] 

B. 

In  eulogizing  (1)  the  survivors  of  the  battle,  (2)  the  pa 
triots  who  lived  long  enough  to  see  independence  estab 
lished,  (3)  Joseph  Warren,  (4)  the  Revolutionary  veterans, 
(5)  Lafayette  ;  how  does  Webster  in  each  case  vary  the 
form  and  method  of  his  eulogy  ? 

C. 

What  mark  has  Webster  left  upon  the  laws  and  public 
opinions  of  the  present  day  ? 

D. 

1.  Which  of   the  following  sentences   is   grammatically 
correct  ?     Give  reasons.      Which  sentence  do  you   think 
Webster  wrote  ? 

a)  "  Energy   of   mind,    genius,    power,    wherever   they 
exist,  may  speak  out   in  any  tongue,  and  the   world    will 
hear  them." 

b)  "  Energy  of  mind,  genius,  power,  wherever  it  exists, 
may  speak  out  in  any  tongue,  and  the  world  will  hear  it." 

2.  Make  a  list  of  the  words  which  might  be  used  to  sup 
ply  the  omission   indicated  below.     Select  the  best  word, 
giving  reasons  why  it  is  preferable  to  each  of  the  others. 

"  But  our  object  is,  by  this  edifice,  to  show  our  own 
deep  sense  of  the  value  and  importance  of  the  achieve 
ments  of  our  ancestors  :  and,  by  presenting  this  work  of 
gratitude  to  the  eye,  to  keep  alive  similar  sentiments,  and 
to a  constant  regard  for  the  principles  of  the  Revolu 
tion." 

IV. 

[Note  and  Question  A  as  in  I.] 


SPECIMEN  EXAMINATION  PAPERS 


B. 

In  what  respect  is  the  first  sentence  of  paragraph  1  a  bet 
ter  opening  for  the  oration  than  would  be  the  first  sentence 
of  paragraph  2  ? 

1.  "  This  uncounted  multitude   before  me  and   around  me  proves 
the    feeling    which    the    occasion    has   excited.     These  thousands  of 
human  faces,  glowing  with  sympathy  and  joy,  and  from  the  impulses 
of  a  common  gratitude  turned  reverently  to  heaven   in   this  spacious 
temple  of  the   firmament,  proclaim  that  the   day,  the  place,  and  the 
purpose  of   our   assembling   have   made   a   deep  impression   on  our 
hearts. 

2.  ''  If,  indeed,  there   be  anything  in  local  association  fit  to  affect 
the  mind   of  man,  we   need  not  strive  to  repress  the  emotions  which 
agitate  us   here.     We  are   among  the  sepulchres  of  our  fathers.     We 
are  on  ground  distinguished  by  their  valor,  their  constancy,  and  the 
shedding  of  their  blood." 

c. 

Iii  a  short  essay,  reproduce  Webster's  views  on  the  rela 
tion  of  knowledge  to  liberty,  using  illustrations  of  your 

own. 

D. 

By  an  analysis  of  the  following  paragraph,  show  the  nec 
essary  drift  of  the  omitted  sentences.  Embody  the  missing 
ideas  in  sentences  of  your  own  composing. 

1.   "  We  are  not  propagandists.     2.   Wherever  other  systems  are  pre 
ferred,   either  as  being  thought   better  in    themselves,   or  as  better 
suited  to  existing  conditions,  we  leave  the  preference  to  be  enjoyed. 
ii.  Our  history  hitherto  proves,  however,   that  the  popular  form  is 
practicable,  and  that  with   wisdom  and  knowledge  men  may  govern 
themselves  ;  and  the   duty   incumbent  on  us  is  to   preserve  the  con 
sistency  of  this  cheering   example,  and   take  care   that  nothing  may 
weaken  its  authority  with  the  world.     4      ......     5.     .      . 

.     .     .     .     0.  The  last  hopes  of  mankind,  therefore,  rest   with   us  ; 

and  if  it  should  be  proclaimed,  that  our  example  had  become  an  argu 
ment  against  the  experiment,  the  knell  of  popular  liberty  would  be 
sounded  throughout  the  earth." 


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THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT 

i 

AN   ADDRESS    DELIVERED   AT    THE    LAYING    OP    THE    CORNER-STONE 

OF   THE   BUNKER   HILL    MONUMENT   AT    CHARLESTOWN, 

MASS.,    ON  THE    17TH   OF   JUNE,    1825 

[THE  earliest  monument  on  the  battle-ground  of  Bunker  Hill  was 
a  shaft  to  the  memory  of  Joseph  Warren,  erected  in  1794  by  the 
masonic  lodge  of  which  Warren  was  a  member.  The  idea  of  a  monu 
ment  to  the  battle  itself,  until  within  a  few  years  of  the  fiftieth  anni 
versary,  seems  never  to  have  entered  the  mind  of  anyone.  The  credit 
of  this  new  conception  is  given  to  William  Tudor,  a  Boston  man  of 
letters,  who,  if  he  was  not  the  originator  of  it,  at  least  by  his  persist 
ence  and  energy  did  more  than  anyone  else  to  bring  about  its  realiza 
tion.  Largely  through  his  efforts,  a  monument  association  was  formed 
in  1823,  and  steps  immediately  taken  for  raising  a  large  sum  of 
money.  To  arouse  public  enthusiasm  in  the  project,  the  Association 
resolved  to  lay  the  corner-stone  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
battle.  General  Lafayette,  then  on  a  triumphant  tour  of  the  States, 
gladly  consented  to  be  present  and  to  assist  in  the  ceremonies.  Mr. 
Webster,  as  president  of  the  association  and  the  most  notable  orator 
in  New  England,  was  announced  to  deliver  the  memorial  address. 

The  day,  the  magnificence  of  the  celebration,  the  presence  of  the 
nation's  guest,  and  the  renowned  orator,  combined  to  bring  together  on 
the  historic  field  an  assemblage  of  unusual  distinction.  After  the  cor 
ner-stone  had  been  laid  with  appropriate  solemnities,  the  spectators, 
to  the  number  of  twenty  thousand,  moved  to  the  north  and  took  their 
seats  on  the  sloping  hill-side,  facing  a  platform  erected  at  the  base. 

It  was  an  appreciative  audience.  The  time  which  had  elapsed  since 
the  occurrence  of  the  battle  was  not  yet  so  long  as  to  destroy,  even 
for  the  younger  generation,  the  sense  of  nearness  and  reality.  The 
fathers  or  grandfathers  of  most  of  them  had  borne  arms  in  the  Revo 
lution.  Before  their  eyes  were  forty  veteran  survivors,  with  the  very 


2  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

scars  of  the  battle  visible  upon  them.  Then,  too,  it  was  a  time  when 
the  press  had  not  yet  stolen  outright  the  thunders  of  the  orator.  Men 
did  not  say  to  themselves  on  such  an  occasion,  as  they  do  now,  "  We 
shall  get  all  this  in  to-morrow  morning's  paper,"  and  turn  away  with 
a  yawn.  They  were  ulive  to  the  transitoriness  of  the  event.  They 
felt,  as  we  do  not,  that  in  the  presence  of  such  a  speaker  they  must 
read  with  their  ears  and  listen  with  their  eyes.  They  hung  upon  the 
lips  of  the  orator  with  a  conviction,  the  heritage  of  classic  times,  that 
what  was  lost  then  would  be  lost  forever. 

On  such  an  occasion,  before  such  an  audience,  Webster  rose  and 
opened  his  address.] 

1.  1.   THIS  uncounted  multitude  before  me  and  around 
me  proves  the  feeling   which    the   occasion  has  excited. 
These  thousands  of  human  faces,  glowing  with  sympathy 
and  joy,  and  from  the  impulses  of  a  common  gratitude 
turned  reverently  to  heaven  in  this  spacious  temple  of  the 
firmament,,  proclaim  that  the  day,  the  place,  and  the  pur 
pose  of  our  assembling  have  made  a  deep  impression  on  our 
hearts. 

2.  If,  indeed,  there  be  anything  in  local  association  fit 
to  affect  the  mind  of  man,  we  need  not  strive  to  repress  the 
emotions  which  agitate  us  here.     We  are  among  the  sep 
ulchres  of  our  fathers.     We  are  on  ground  distinguished 
by  their  valor,  their  constancy,  and  the  shedding  of  their 
blood.     We  are  here,  not  to  fix  an  uncertain  date  in  our 
annals,  nor  to  draw  into  notice  an  obscure  and  unknown 
spot.     If  our  humble  purpose  had  never  been  conceived,  if 
we  ourselves  had  never  been  born,  the  17th  of  June,  1775, 
would  have  been  a  day  on  which  all  subsequent  history 
would  have  poured  its  light,  and  the  eminence  where  we 
stand  a  point  of  attraction  to  the  eyes  of  successive  genera 
tions.     But  we  are  Americans.     We  live  in   what  may  be 
called  the  early  age  of  this  great  continent ;  and  we  know 
that  our  posterity,  through  all  time,  are  here  to  enjoy  and 
suffer  the  allotments  of  humanity.     We  see  before  us  a 
probable  train  of  great  events  ;  we  know  that  our  own  fort- 


THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT        3 

unes  have  been  happily  cast ;  and  it  is  natural,  therefore, 
that  we  should  be  moved  by  the  contemplation  of  occur 
rences  which  have  guided  our  destiny  before  many  of  us 
were  born,  and  settled  the  condition  in  which  we  should 
pass  that  portion  of  our  existence  which  God  allows  to  men 
on  earth. 

3.  We  do  not  read  even  of  the  discovery  of  this  conti 
nent  without  feeling  something  of  a  personal  interest  in  the 
event  ;  without  being  reminded  how  much  it  has  affected 
our  own  fortunes  and  our  own  existence.     It  would  be  still 
more  unnatural  for  us,  therefore,  than  for  others,  to  con 
template  with  unaffected  minds  that  interesting,  I    may 
say  that  most  touching  and  pathetic  scene,  when  the  great 
discoverer  of  America  stood  on  the  deck  of  his  shattered 
bark,  the  shades  of  night  falling  on  the  sea,  yet  no  man 
sleeping  ;  tossed  on  the  billows  of  an  unknown  ocean,  yet 
the  stronger  billows  of  alternate  hope  and  despair  tossing 
his  own  troubled  thoughts  ;  extending  forward  his  harassed 
frame,  straining   westward  his  anxious  and  eager  eyes,  till 
Heaven  at  last  granted  him  a  moment  of  rapture  and  ec 
stasy,  in  blessing  his  vision  with  the  sight  of  the  unknown 
world. 

4.  Xearer  to  our  times,  more  closely  connected  with  our 
fates,  and  therefore  still  more  interesting  to  our  feelings 
and  affections,  is  the  settlement  of  our   own  country  by 
colonists  from   England.     We  cherish  every  memorial  of 
these  worthy  ancestors  ;  we  celebrate  their   patience  and 
fortitude ;    we  admire  their  daring  enterprise  ;    we    teach 
our  children   to  venerate  their  piety  ;  and  we  are  justly 
proud    of   being  descended  from   men    who  have  set   the 
world  an  example  of   founding   civil  institutions  on  the 
great  and  united  principles  of  human  freedom  and  human 
knowledge.     To  us.  their  children,  the  story  of  their  labors 
and  sufferings  can  never  be  without  its  interest.     We  shall 
not  stand  unmoved  on  the  shore  of  Plymouth  while  the 


4  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

sea  continues  to  wash  it  ;  nor  will  our  brethren  in  another 
early  and  ancient  Colony  l  forget  the  place  of  its  first  es 
tablishment,  till  their  river  shall  cease  to  flow  by  it.  >>'o 
vigor  of  youth,  no  maturity  of  manhood,  will  lead  the 
nation  to  forget  the  spots  where  its  infancy  was  cradled 
and  defended. 

5.  But  the  great  event  in  the  history  of  the  continent, 
which  we  are  now  met  here  to  commemorate,  that  prodigy 
of  modern  times,  at  once  the  wonder  and  the  blessing  of  the 
world,  is  the  American  Revolution.  In  a  day  of  extraor 
dinary  prosperity  and  happiness,  of  high  national  honor, 
distinction,  and  power,  we  are  brought  together,  in  this 
place,  by  our  love  of  country,  by  our  admiration  of  exalted 
character,  by  our  gratitude  for  signal  services  and  patriotic 
devotion. 

II.  6.  The  Society 2  whose  organ  I  am  was  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  rearing  some  honorable  and  durable  monument 
to  the  memory  of  the  early  friends  of  American  Indepen 
dence.  They  have  thought  that  for  this  object  no  time 
could  be  more  propitious  than  the  present  prosperous  and 
peaceful  period  ;  that  no  place  could  claim  preference  over 
this  memorable  spot,  and  that  no  day  could  be  more  au 
spicious  to  the  undertaking  than  the  anniversary  of  the  bat 
tle  which  was  here  fought.  The  foundation  of  that  mon 
ument  we  have  now  laid.  With  solemnities  suited  to  the 
occasion,  with  prayers  to  Almighty  God  for  his  blessing, 
and  in  the  midst  of  this  cloud  of  witnesses,  we  have  begun 
the  work.  We  trust  it  will  be  prosecuted,  and  that, 
springing  from  a  broad  foundation,  rising  high  in  massive 
solidity  and  unadorned  grandeur,  it  may  remain  as  long  as 

1  Probably  the  Maryland  colony,  founded  on  the  St.  Mary's  Uiver  in 
1634. 

2  The  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association,  of  \yhich  at  this  time  Mr. 
Webster  was  president. 


THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT  5 

Heaven  permits  the  works  of  man  to  last,  a  fit  emblem, 
both  of  the  events  in  memory  of  which  it  is  raised,  and  of 
the  gratitude  of  those  who  have  reared  it. 

?.  We  know,  indeed,  that  the  record  of  illustrious  ac 
tions  is  most  safely  deposited  in  the  universal  remembrance 
of  mankind.  \Ve  know,  that  if  we  could  cause  this  struct 
ure  to  ascend,  not  only  till  it  reached  the  skies,  but  till  it 
pierced  them,  its  broad  surfaces  could  still  contain  but 
part  of  that  which,  in  an  age  of  knowledge,  hath  already 
been  spread  over  the  earth,  and  which  history  charges  it 
self  with  making  known  to  all  future  times.  We  know 
that  no  inscription  on  entablatures  less  broad  than  the 
earth  itself  can  carry  information  of  the  events  we  com 
memorate  where  it  has  not  already  gone  ;  and  that  no 
structure,  which  shall  not  outlive  the  duration  of  letters 
and  knowledge  among  men,  can  prolong  the  memorial. 
But  our  object  is,  by  this  edifice,  to  show  our  own  deep 
sense  of  the  value  and  importance  of  the  achievements  of 
our  ancestors  ;  and,  by  presenting  this  work  of  gratitude 
to  the  eye,  to  keep  alive  similar  sentiments,  and  to  foster 
a  constant  regard  for  the  principles  of  the  Revolution. 
Human  beings  are  composed,  not  of  reason  only,  but  of 
imagination  also,  and  sentiment ;  and  that  is  neither 
wasted  nor  misapplied  which  is  appropriated  to  the  pur 
pose  of  giving  right  direction  to  sentiments,  and  opening 
proper  springs  of  feeling  in  the  heart.  Let  it  not  be  sup 
posed  that  our  object  is  to  perpetuate  national  hostility,  or 
even  to  cherish  a  mere  military  spirit.  It  is  higher,  purer, 
nobler.  We  consecrate  our  work  to  the  spirit  of  national 
independence,  and  we  wish  that  the  light  of  peace  may 
rest  upon  it  forever.  We  rear  a  memorial  of  our  con 
viction  of  that  unmeasured  benefit  which  has  been  con 
ferred  on  our  own  land,  and  of  the  happy  influences  which 
have  been  produced,  by  the  same  events,  on  the  general  in 
terests  of  mankind.  We  come,  as  Americans,  to  mark  a 


6  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

spot  which  must  forever  be  dear  to  us  and  our  posterity. 
We  wish  that  whosoever,  in  all  coming  time,  shall  turn 
his  eye  hither,  may  behold  that  the  place  is  not  undis 
tinguished  where  the  first  great  battle  of  the  Revolution 
was  fought.  We  wish  that  this  structure  may  proclaim 
the  magnitude  and  importance  of  that  event  to  every  class 
and  every  age.  We  wish  that  infancy  may  learn  the  pur 
pose  of  its  erection  from  maternal  lips,  and  that  weary  and 
withered  age  may  behold  it,  and  be  solaced  by  the  recollec 
tions  which  it  suggests.  We  wish  that  labor  may  look  up 
here,  and  be  proud,  in  the  midst  of  its  toil.  We  wish 
that,  in  those  days  of  disaster,  which,  as  they  come  upon 
all  nations,  must  be  expected  to  come  upon  us  also,  de 
sponding  patriotism  may  turn  its  eyes  hitherward,  and  be 
assured  that  the  foundations  of  our  national  power  are  still 
strong.  We  wish  that  this  column,  rising  towards  heaven 
among  the  pointed  spires  of  so  many  temples  dedicated  to 
God,  may  contribute  also  to  produce,  in  all  minds,  a  pious 
feeling  of  dependence  and  gratitude.  AVe  wish,  finally, 
that  the  last  object  to  the  sight  of  him  who  leaves  his  na 
tive  shore,  and  the  first  to  gladden  his  who  revisits  it,  may 
be  something  which  shall  remind  him  of  the  liberty  and 
the  glory  of  his  country.  Let  it  rise  !  let  it  rise,  till  it  meet 
the  sun  in  his  coming  ;  let  the  earliest  light  of  the  morn 
ing  gild  it,  and  parting  day  linger  and  play  on  its  summit. 

III.  8.  We  live  in  a  most  extraordinary  age.  Events 
so  various  and  so  important  that  they  might  crowd  and 
distinguish  centuries,  are,  in  our  times,  compressed  within 
the  compass  of  a  single  life.  When  has  it  happened  that 
history  has  had  so  much  to  record,  in  the  same  term  of 
years,  as  since  the  17th  of  June,  1775  ?  Our  own  Revolu 
tion,  which,  under  other  circumstances,  might  itself  have 
been  expected  to  occasion  a  war  of  half  a  century,  has  been 
achieved  ;  twenty-four  sovereign  and  independent  States 


THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT  7 

erected  ;  and  A  general  government  established  over  them, 
so  safe,  so  wise,  so  free,  so  practical,  that  we  might  well 
wonder  its  establishment  should  have  been  accomplished 
so  soon,  were  it  not  far  the  greater  wonder  that  it  should 
have  been  established  at  all.  Two  or  three  millions  of 
people  have  been  augmented  to  twelve,  the  great  forests  of 
the  West  prostrated  beneath  the  arm  of  successful  in 
dustry,  and  the  dwellers  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  and  the 
Mississippi  become  the  fellow-citizens  and  neighbors  of 
those  who  cultivate  the  hills  of  Xew  England.  We  have  a 
commerce  that  leaves  no  sea  unexplored  ;  navies  which 
take  no  law  from  superior  force  ;  revenues  adequate  to  al) 
the  exigencies  of  government,  almost  without  taxation  ; 
and  peace  with  all  nations,  founded  on  equal  rights  and 
mutual  respect. 

1).  Europe,  within  the  same  period,  has  been  agitated  by 
a  mighty  revolution,1  which,  while  it  has  been  felt  in  the 
individual  condition  and  happiness  of  almost  every  man, 
has  shaken  to  the  center  her  political  fabric,  and  dashed 
against  one  another  thrones  which  had  stood  tranquil  for 
ages.  On  this,  our  continent,  our  own  example  has  been 
followed,  and  colonies  have  sprung  up  to  be  nations.  Un 
accustomed  sounds  of  liberty  and  free  goyernment  have 
reached  us  from  beyond  the  track  of  the  sun  ;2  and  at  this 
moment  the  dominion  of  European  power  in  this  continent, 
from  the  place  where  we  stand  to  the  south  pole,  is  an 
nihilated  forever.3 

10.  In  the  mean  time,  both  in  Europe  and  America, 
such  has  been  the  general  progress  of  knowledge,  such  the 
improvement  in  legislation,  in  commerce,  in  the  arts,  in 
letters,  and,  above  all,  in  liberal  ideas  and  the  general  spirit 
of  the  age.  that  the  whole  world  seems  changed. 

1  The  French  Revolution  of  1789. 

-  I.e. ,  from  South  America,  where  several  republics  had  recently  been 
established.  3  By  the  proclamation  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 


8  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

11.  Yet,  notwithstanding  that  this  is  but  a  faint  abstract 
of  the  things  which  have  happened  since  the  day  of  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  we  are  but  fifty  years  removed  from 
it ;  and  we  now  stand  here  to  enjoy  all  the  blessings  of  our 
own  condition,  and  to  look  abroad  on  the  brightened  pros 
pects  of  the  world,  while  we  still  have  among  us  some  of 
those  who  were  active  agents  in  the  scenes  of  1775,  and 
who  are  now  here,  from  every  quarter  of  New  England,  to 
visit  once  more,  and  under  circumstances  so  affecting,  I 
had  almost  said  so  overwhelming,  this  renowned  theatre  of 
their  courage  and  patriotism. 

IV.  12.  VENERABLE  MEN  !  you  have  come  down  to  us 
from  a  former  generation.  Heaven  has  bounteously 
lengthened  out  your  lives,  that  you  might  behold  this  joy 
ous  day.  You  are  now  where  you  stood  fifty  years  ago, 
this  very  hour,  with  your  brothers  and  your  neighbors, 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  in  the  strife  for  your  country.  Be 
hold,  how  altered  !  The  same  heavens  are  indeed  over 
your  heads  ;  the  same  ocean  rolls  at  your  feet :  but  all  else- 
how  changed  !  You  hear  now  no  roar  of  hostile  cannon, 
you  see  no  mixed  volumes  of  smoke  and  flame  rising  from 
burning  Charlestown.  The  ground  strowed  with  the  dead 
and  the  dying  ;  the  impetuous  charge;  the  steady  and  suc 
cessful  repulse ;  the  loud  call  to  repeated  assault;  the  sum 
moning  of  all  that  is  manly  to  repeated  resistance  ;  a  thou 
sand  bosoms  freely  and  fearlessly  bared  in  an  instant  to 
whatever  of  terror  there  may  be  in  war  and  death  ; — all 
these  you  have  witnessed,  but  you  witness  them  no  more. 
All  is  peace.  The  heights  of  yonder  metropolis.1  its  towers 
and  roofs,  which  you  then  saw  filled  with  wives  and  chil 
dren  and  countrymen  in  distress  and  terror.' and  looking 
with  unutterable  emotions  for  the  issue  of  the  combat. 
have  presented  you  to-day  with  the  sight  of  its  whole 

1  Boston. 


THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT  9 

happy  population  come  out  to  welcome  and  greet  you  with 
a  universal  jubilee.  Yonder  proud  ships.1  by  a  felicity  of 
position  appropriately  lying  at  the  foot  of  this  mount,  and 
seeming  fondly  to  cling  around  it,  are  not  means  of  annoy 
ance  to  you,  but  your  country's  own  means  of  distinction 
and  defence.  All  is  peace  ;  and  God  has  granted  you  this 
sight  of  your  country's  happiness,  ere  you  slumber  in  the 
grave.  He  has  allowed  you  to  behold  and  to  partake  the 
reward  of  your  patriotic  toils  ;  and  he  has  allowed  us,  your 
sons  and  countrymen,  to  meet  you  here,  and  in  the  name 
of  the  present  generation,  in  the  name  of  your  country,  in 
the  name  of  liberty,  to  thank  you  ! 

13.  But,   alas  !  you    are  not  all  here  !     Time   and    the 
sword  have  thinned  your  ranks.     Prescott,  Putnam,  Stark, 
Brooks,  Read,  Pomeroy,  Bridge  !  our  eyes  seek  for  you  in 
vain  amid  this  broken  band.     You  are  gathered  to  your 
fathers,  and  live  only  to  your  country  in  her  grateful  re 
membrance  and  your  own  bright  example.      But  let  us  not 
too  much  grieve,  that  you  have  met  the  common  fate  of 
men.      You  lived  at  least  long  enough  to  know  that  your 
work  had  been  nobly  and  successfully  accomplished.      You 
lived  to  see  your  country's  independence  established,  and 
to  sheathe  your  swords  from  war.     On  the  light  of  Liberty 
you  saw  arise  the  light  of  Peace,  like 

"  another  morn, 
Risen  on  mid  noon  ; " 

and  the  sky  on  which  you  closed  your  eyes  was  cloudless. 

14.  But  ah  !   Him  !  the  first  great  martyr2  in  this  great 
cause  !     Him  !  the  premature  victim  of  his  own  self-devot 
ing  heart  !     Him  !  the  head  of  our  civil  councils  and  the 
destined    leader   of   our    military    bands,    whom    nothing 
brought  hither  but  the  unquenchable  fire  of  his  own  spirit ! 

1  In  the  United  States  Navy  Yard,  situated  at  the  base  of  the  Hill. 
''  General  Joseph  Warren. 


10  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

Him  !  cut  off  by  Providence  in  the  hour  of  overwhelming 
anxiety  and  thick  gloom  ;  falling  ere  he  saw  the  star  of  his 
country  rise  ;  pouring  out  his  generous  blood  like  water, 
before  he  knew  whether  it  would  fertilize  a  land  of  free 
dom  or  of  bondage  ! — how  shall  I  struggle  with  the  emo 
tions  that  stifle  the  utterance  of  thy  name  !  Our  poor 
work  may  perish  ;  but  thine  shall  endure  !  This  monu 
ment  may  niolder  away ;  the  solid  ground  it  rests  upon 
may  sink  down  to  a  level  with  the  sea  ;  but  thy  memory 
shall  not  fail  !  Wheresoever  among  men  a  heart  shall  be 
found  that  beats  to  the  transports  of  patriotism  and  liberty, 
its  aspirations  shall  be  to  claim  kindred  with  thy  spirit  ! 

15.  But  the  scene  amidst  which  we  stand  does  not  per 
mit  us  to  confine  our  thoughts  or  our  sympathies  to  those 
fearless  spirits  who  hazarded  or  lost  their  lives  on  this  con 
secrated  spot.     We  have  the  happiness  to  rejoice  here  in 
the  presence  of  a  most  worthy  representation  of  the  sur 
vivors  of  the  whole  Revolutionary  army. 

16.  VETERANS  !  you  are  the  remnant  of  many  a  well- 
fought  field.     You  bring  with  you  marks  of  honor  from 
Trenton  and  Monmouth,  from   Yorktown,  Camden,  Ben- 
nington,  and  Saratoga.     VETERANS  OF  HALF  A  CENTURY  ! 
when  in  your  youthful  days  you  put  everything  at  hazard 
in  your  country's  cause,  good  as  that  cause  was,  and  san 
guine  as  youth  is,  still  your  fondest  hopes  did  not  stretch 
onward  to  an  hour  like  this.     At  a  period  to  which  you 
could  not  reasonably  have  expected  to  arrive,  at  a  moment 
of  national  prosperity  such  as  you  could  never  have  fore 
seen,  you  are  now  met  here  to  enjoy  the  fellowship  of  old 
soldiers,  and  to  receive  the  overflowings  of  a  universal  grat 
itude. 

17.  But  your  agitated  countenances  and  your  heaving 
breasts  inform  me  that  even  this  is  not  an  unmixed  joy. 
I  perceive  that  a  tumult  of  contending   feelings  rushes 
upon  you.     The  images  of  the  dead,  as  well  as  the  persons 


THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT  11 

sif  the  living,  present  themselves  before  you.  The  scene 
overwhelms  you.  and  I  turn  from  it.  May  the  leather  of 
all  mercies  smile  upon  your  declining  years,  and  bless 
them  !  And  when  you  shall  here  have  exchanged  your 
embraces,  when  you  shall  once  more  have  pressed  the 
hands  which  have  been  so  often  extended  to  give  succor  in 
adversity,  or  grasped  in  the  exultation  of  victory,  then  look 
abroad  upon  this  lovely  land  which  your  young  valor  de 
fended,  and  mark  the  happiness  with  which  it  is  filled  ; 
yea,  look  abroad  upon  the  whole  earth,  and  see  what  a 
name  you  have  contributed  to  give  to  your  country,  and 
what  a  praise  you  have  added  to  freedom,  and  then  rejoice 
in  the  sympathy  and  gratitude  which  beam  upon  your  last 
days  from  the  improved  condition  of  mankind  ! 

V.  18.  The  occasion  does  not  require  of  me  any  partic 
ular  account  of  the  battle  of  the  17th  of  June,  1775,  nor 
any  detailed  narrative  of  the  events  which  immediately 
preceded  it.  These  are  familiarly  known  to  all.  In  the 
progress  of  the  great  and  interesting  controversy,  Massa 
chusetts  and  the  town  of  Boston  had  become  early  and 
marked  objects  of  the  displeasure  of  the  British  Parlia 
ment.  This  had  been  manifested  in  the  act  for  altering 
the  government  of  the  Province,1  and  in  that  for  shutting 
up  the  port  of  Boston.  Xothing  sheds  more  honor  on  our 
early  history,  and  nothing  better  shows  how  little  the 
feelings  and  sentiments  of  the  Colonies  were  known  or  re 
garded  in  England,  than  the  impression  which  these  meas 
ures  everywhere  produced  in  America.  It  had  been  antici 
pated,  that  while  the  Colonies  in  general  would  be  terrified 
by  the  severity  of  the  punishment  inflicted  on  Massachu 
setts,  the  other  seaports  would  be  governed  by  a  mere 

1  Transferring  from  the  people  to  the  Crown  the  right  of  choosing 
the  Council,  and  from  the  people  to  the  Governor  the  right  of  nomi 
nating  the  judges. 


12  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

spirit  of  gain  ;  and  that,  as  Boston  was  now  cut  off  from 
all  commerce,  the  unexpected  advantage  which  this  blow 
on  her  was  ralculated  to  confer  on  other  towns  would  be 
greedilv  enjoved.  How  miserably  such  reasoners  deceived 
themselves  !  How  little  they  knew  of  the  depth,  and  the 
strength,  and  the  intenseness  of  that  feeling  of  resistance 
to  illegal  acts  of  power,  which  possessed  the  whole  Amer 
ican  people  !  Everywhere  the  unworthy  boon  was  rejected 
with  scorn.  The  fortunate  occasion  was  seized,  every 
where,  to  show  to  the  whole  world  that  the  Colonies  were 
swayed  by  no  local  interest,  no  partial  interest,  no  selfish 
interest.  The  temptation  to  profit  by  the  punishment  of 
Boston  was  strongest  to  our  neighbors  of  Salem.  Yet 
Salem  was  precisely  the  place  where  this  miserable  proffer 
was  spurned  in  a  tone  of  the  most  lofty  self-respect  and 
the  most  indignant  patriotism.  "  We  are  deeply  affected," 
said  its  inhabitants,  "  with  the  sense  of  our  public  calam 
ities  ;  but  the  miseries  that  are  now  rapidly  hastening  on 
our  brethren  in  the  capital  of  the  Province  greatly  excite 
our  commiseration.  By  shutting  up  the  port  of  Boston, 
some  imagine  that  the  course  of  trade  might  be  turned 
hither  and  to  our  benefit  ;  but  we  must  be  dead  to  every 
idea  of  justice,  lost  to  all  feelings  of  humanity,  could  we 
indulge  a  thought  to  seize  on  wealth  and  raise  our  for 
tunes  on  the  ruin  of  our  suffering  neighbors."  These 
noble  sentiments  were  not  confined  to  our  immediate  vi 
cinity.  In  that  day  of  general  affection  and  brotherhood, 
the  blow  given  to  Boston  smote  on  every  patriotic  heart 
from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  Virginia  and 
the  Carolinas,  as  well  as  Connecticut  and  Xew  Hampshire, 
felt  and  proclaimed  the  cause  to  be  their  own.  The  Con 
tinental  Congress,  then  holding  its  first  session  in  Phil 
adelphia,  expressed  its  sympathy  for  the  suffering  inhab 
itants  of  Boston,  and  addresses  were  received  from  all 
quarters,  assuring  them  that  the  cause  was  a  common  one, 


THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT  13 

and  should  he  met  by  common  efforts  and  common  sacri 
fices.  The  Congress  of  Massachusetts  responded  to  these 
assurances  :  and  in  an  address  to  the  Congress  at  Philadel 
phia,  bearing  the  official  signature,  perhaps  among  the 
last,  of  the  immortal  Warren,  notwithstanding  the  severity 
of  its  suffering  and  the  magnitude  of  the  dangers  which 
threatened  it,  it  was  declared  that  this  Colony  "  is  ready, 
at  all  times,  to  spend  and  to  be  spent  in  the  cause  of 
America." 

1!).  But  the  hour  drew  nigh  which  was  to  put  profes 
sions  to  the  proof,  and  to  determine  whether  the  authors 
of  these  mutual  pledges  were  ready  to  seal  them  in  blood. 
The  tidings  of  Lexington  and  Concord  had  no  sooner 
spread,  than  it  was  universally  felt  that  the  time  was  at 
last  come  for  action.  A  spirit  pervaded  all  ranks,  not 
transient,  not  boisterous,  but  deep,  solemn,  determined, 

''  totam<£iie  infusa  per  artus 
Mens  agitat  molem,  et  magno  se  corpore  miscet. "  ' 

War  on  their  own  soil  and  at  their  own  doors,  was,  indeed, 
a  strange  work  to  the  yeomanry  of  New  England  ;  but 
their  consciences  were  convinced  of  its  necessity,  their 
country  called  them  to  it,  and  they  did  not  withhold 
themselves  from  the  perilous  trial.  The  ordinary  occu 
pations  of  life  were  abandoned  ;  the  plow  was  stayed  in 
the  unfinished  furrow  ;  wives  gave  up  their  husbands,  and 
mothers  gave  up  their  sons,  to  the  battles  of  a  civil  war. 
Death  might  come,  in  honor,  on  the  field  ;  it  might  come, 
in  disgrace,  on  the  scaffold.  For  either  and  for  both  they 
were  prepared.  The  sentiment  of  Quincy'-2  was  full  in 

1  "Through  all  their  members  interfused,  a  mind 
Quickens  the  mass  entire,  and  mingling  stirs 
The  mighty  frame." 

— ViROir.'s  ./EN Kin,   vi.  72G  ;  Cranch's  translation. 
'J  Josiah  Quincy,   1744-1775,  known    among  his  contemporaries  as 
Josiuh  (juincy,  Jr. 


14  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

their  hearts.  "'  Blandishments/''  said  that  distinguished 
son  of  genius  and  patriotism,  "'  will  not  fascinate  us,  nor 
will  threats  of  a  halter  intimidate  ;  for,  under  God,  we  are 
determined  that,  wheresoever,  whensoever,  or  howsoever 
we  shall  be  called  to  make  our  exit,  we  will  die  free  men." 

20.  The  17th  of  June  saw  the  four  New-England  Col 
onies  l  standing  here,  side  by  side,  to  triumph   or  to  fall 
together  ;  and  there  was  with  them  from  that  moment  to 
the  end  of  the  war,  what  I  hope  will  remain  with  them 
forever,  one  cause,  one  country,  one  heart. 

21.  The  Battle   of  Bunker  Hill   was  attended  with  the 
most  important  effects  beyond   its  immediate   results  as  a 
military  engagement.     It  created  at  once  a  state  of  open, 
public  war.     There  could  now  be  no  longer  a  question  of 
proceeding  against  individuals,  as  guilty  of  treason  or  re 
bellion.     That  fearful  crisis  was  past.     The  appeal  lay  to 
the  sword,  and  the  only  question  was,  whether  the  spirit 
and  the  resources  of  the  people  would  hold  out  till  the  ob 
ject  should  be  accomplished.     Nor  were  its  general  conse 
quences  confined  to  our  own  country.     The  previous  pro 
ceedings  of  the  Colonies,   their  appeals,   resolutions,  and 
addresses,  had  made  their  cause  known  to  Europe.     With 
out  boasting,  we  may  say,  that  in  no  age  or  country  has 
the  public  cause  been  maintained  with  more  force  of  argu 
ment,   more  power  of   illustration,  or  more  of  that   per 
suasion  which  excited   feeling  and   elevated  principle  can 
alone  bestow,  than  the  Revolutionary  state  papers  exhibit. 
These  papers  will  forever  deserve  to  be  studied,  not  only 
for  the  spirit  which  they  breathe,  but  for  the  ability  with 
which  they  were  written. 

22.  To  this  able  vindication  of  their  cause,  the  Colonies 
had  now  added  a  practical  and  severe  proof  of  their  own 
true  devotion  to  it,  and  given  evidence  also  of  the  power 
which  they  could  bring  to  its  support.     All  now  saw.  that 

1  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  Hampshire,  and  Rhode  Island. 


THE  Bl'XKKR  HILL   MONUMENT  15 

if  America  fell,  she  would  not  fall  without  a  struggle. 
Men  felt  sympathy  and  regard,  as  well  as  surprise,  when 
they  beheld  these  infant  states,  remote,  unknown,  unaided, 
encounter  the  power  of  England,  and,  in  the  first  consid 
erable  battle,  leave  more  of  their  enemies  dead  on  the  field . 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  combatants,1  than  had  been 
recently  known  to  fall  in  the  wars  of  Europe. 

23.  Information  of  these  events,  circulating  throughout 
the  world,  at  length  reached  the  ears  of  one  who  now 
hears  me.2  lie  has  not  forgotten  the  emotion  which  the 
fame  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  the  name  of  Warren,  excited  in 
his  youthful  breast. 

VI.  '24.  SiR,3  we  are  assembled  to  commemorate  the  es 
tablishment  of  great  public  principles  of  liberty,  and  to 
do  honor  to  the  distinguished  dead.  The  occasion  is  too 
severe4  for  eulogy  of  the  living.  But,  Sir,  your  interest 
ing  relation  to  this  country,  the  peculiar  circumstances 
which  surround  you  and  surround  us,  call  on  me  to  ex 
press  the  happiness  which  we  derive  from  your  presence 
and  aid  in  this  solemn  commemoration. 

25.  Fortunate,  fortunate  man  !  with  what  measure  of  de 
votion  will  you  not  thank  God  for  the  circumstances  of  your 
extraordinary  life  !  You  are  connected  with  both  hemi 
spheres  and  with  two  generations.  Heaven  saw  fit  to 
ordain  that  the  electric  spark  of  liberty  should  be  con 
ducted,  through  you,  from  the  Xew  World  to  the  Old  ; 
and  we,  who  are  now  here  to  perform  this  duty  of  patriot- 

1  The  British  troops  lost  about  one  in  four  of  their  number. 

2  General  Lafayette. 

3  "General  Lafayette,  who  was  seated  in  front  of  the  stage   among 
the  Revolutionary  officers,  when  particularly  addressed,  rose,  and  con 
tinued  standing1,  till  the  orator  commenced   upon  another  topic. "- 
Boston  Patriot  and  Mercantile  Advertiser,  June  20,  1825. 

4  I.e. ,  at  once  too  solemn,  and  too  strictly  devoted  to  a  special  pur 
pose. 


16  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

ism,  have  all  of  us  long  ago  received  it  in  charge  from  our 
fathers  to  cherish  your  name  and  your  virtues.  You  will 
account  it  an  instance  of  your  good  fortune,  Sir,  that  you 
crossed  the  seas  to  visit  us  at  a  time  which  enables  you  to 
be  present  at  this  solemnity.  You  now  behold  the  Held, 
the  renown  of  which  reached  you  in  the  heart  of  France, 
and  caused  a  thrill  in  your  ardent  bosom.  You  see  the 
lines  of  the  little  redoubt  thrown  up  by  the  incredible  dil 
igence  of  Prescott ;  defended,  to  the  last  extremity,  by  his 
lion-hearted  valor ;  and  within  which  the  corner-stone  of 
our  monument  has  now  taken  its  position.  You  see  where 
AVarren  fell,  and  where  Parker,  Gardner,  McCleary,  Moore, 
and  other  early  patriots  fell  with  him.  Those  who  sur 
vived  that  day,  and  whose  lives  have  been  prolonged  to  the 
present  hour,  are  now  around  you.  Some  of  them  you 
have  known  in  the  trying  scenes  of  the  war.  Behold  ! 
they  now  stretch  forth  their  feeble  arms  to  embrace  you. 
Behold  !  they  raise  their  trembling  voices  to  invoke  the 
blessing  of  God  on  you  and  yours  forever. 

26.  Sir,  ytni  have  assisted  us  in  laying  the  foundation 
of  this  structure.  You  have  heard  us  rehearse,  with  our 
feeble  commendation,  the  names  of  departed  patriots. 
Monuments  and  eulogy  belong  to  the  dead.  AVe  give  them 
this  day  to  AVarren  and  his  associates.  On  other  occasions 
they  have  been  given  to  your  more  immediate  companions 
in  arms,  to  AVashington,  to  Greene,  to  Gates,  to  Sullivan, 
and  to  Lincoln.  AVe  have  become  reluctant  to  grant  these, 
our  highest  and  last  honors,  further.  AVe  would  gladly 
hold  them  yet  back  from  the  little  remnant  of  that  immor 
tal  band.  Serus  in  ccelnm  reilcas.1  Illustrious  as  are 
your  merits,  yet  far,  0,  very  far  distant  be  the  day,  when 
any  inscription  shall  bear  your  name,  or  any  tongue  pro 
nounce  its  eulogy  ! 

1  "  May  it  be  long  before  you  return  to  heaven." 


THE  BUNKFAl  HILL  MONUMENT  17 

VII.  37.  The  leading  reflection  to  which  this  occasion 
seems  to  invite  us,  respects  the  great  changes  which  have 
happened  in  the  fifty  years  since  the  hattle  of  Bunker  Hill 
was  fought.  And  it  peculiarly  marks  the  character  of  the 
present  age,  that,  in  looking  at  these  changes,  and  in  esti 
mating  their  effect  on  our  condition,  we  are  obliged  to  con 
sider,  not  what  has  been  done  in  our  own  country  only, 
but  in  others  also.  In  these  interesting  times,  while  na 
tions  are  making  separate  and  individual  advances  in  im 
provement,  they  make,  too,  a  common  progress ;  like  ves 
sels  on  a  common  tide,  propelled  by  the  gales  at  different 
rates,  according  to  their  several  structure  and  manage 
ment,  but  all  moved  forward  by  one  mighty  current, 
strong  enough  to  bear  onward  whatever  does  not  sink  be 
neath  it. 

2S.  A  chief  distinction  of  the  present  day  is  a  commu 
nity  of  opinions  and  knowledge  amongst  men  in  different 
nations,  existing  in  a  degree  heretofore  unknown.  Knowl 
edge  has  in  our  time  triumphed,  and  is  triumphing,  over 
distance,  over  difference  of  languages,  over  diversity  of 
habits,  over  prejudice,  and  over  bigotry.  The  civilized 
and  Christian  world  is  fast  learning  the  great  lesson,  that 
difference  of  nation  does  not  imply  necessary  hostility,  and 
that  all  contact  need  not  be  war.  The  whole  world  is  be 
coming  a  common  field  for  intellect  to  act  in.  Energy  of 
mind,  genius,  power,  wheresoever  it  exists,  may  speak  out 
in  any  tongue,  and  the  world  will  hear  it.  A  great  chord 
of  sentiment  and  feeling  runs  through  two  continents,  and 
vibrates  over  both.  Every  breeze  wafts  intelligence  from 
country  to  country  ;  every  wave  rolls  it ;  all  give  it  forth, 
and  all  in  turn  receive  it.  There  is  a  vast  commerce  of 
ideas  ;  there  are  marts  and  exchanges  for  intellectual  dis 
coveries,  and  a  wonderful  fellowship  of  those  individual  in 
telligences  which  make  up  the  mind  and  opinion  of  the 
age.  Mind  is  the  great  lever  of  all  things ;  human  thought 


18  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

is  the  process  by  which  human  ends  are  ultimately  an 
swered  ;  and  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  so  astonishing  in 
the  last  half-century,  has  rendered  innumerable  minds, 
variously  gifted  by  nature,  competent  to  be  competitors  or 
fellow-workers  on  the  theatre  of  intellectual  operation. 

29.  From  these  causes,   important  improvements  have 
taken   place    in    the    personal    condition    of    individuals. 
Generally  speaking,  mankind  are  not  only  better  fed  and 
better  clothed,  but  they  are  able  also  to  enjoy  more  leisure  ; 
they  possess  more  refinement  and  more  self-respect.     A 
superior  tone  of  education,  manners,  and  habits,  prevails. 
This  remark,  most  true  in  its  application  to  our  own  coun 
try,   is  also  partly  true   when    applied   elsewhere.      It  is 
proved  by  the   vastly   augmented    consumption  of  those 
articles  of  manufacture  and  of  commerce  which  contribute 
to  the  comforts  and  the  decencies  of  life  ;  an  augmenta 
tion  which  has  far   outrun  the   progress   of   population. 
And  while  the  unexampled  and  almost  incredible  use  of 
machinery  would  seem  to  supply  the  place  of  labor,  labor 
still  finds  its  occupation  and   its  reward  ;    so   wisely  lias 
Providence  adjusted  men's  wants  and  desires  to  their  con 
dition  and  their  capacity. 

30.  Any  adequate  survey,  however,  of  the  progress  made 
during  the  last  half-century  in  the  polite  and  the  mechanic 
arts,   in  machinery  and  manufactures,   in   commerce  and 
agriculture,    in    letters    and    in    science,    would    require 
volumes.     I  must  abstain  wholly  from  these  subjects,  and 
turn  for  a  moment  to  the  contemplation  of  what  has  been 
done  on  the  great  question  of  politics  and  government. 
This  is  the  master  topic  of  the  age  ;  and  during  the  whole 
fifty  years  it  has  intensely  occupied  the  thoughts  of  men. 
The  nature  of  civil  government,  its  ends  and  uses,  have 
been  canvassed  and  investigated  ;  ancient  opinions  attacked 
and  defended  ;  new  ideas  recommended   and   resisted,   by 
whatever  power  the  mind  of  man  could  bring  to  the  con- 


THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT  19 

troversy.  From  the  closet  and  the  public  halls  the  debate 
has  been  transferred  to  the  field  ;  and  the  world  has  been 
shaken  by  wars  of  unexampled  magnitude  and  the  greatest 
variety  of  fortune.  A  day  of  peace  has  at  length  suc 
ceeded  ;  and  now  that  the  strife  has  subsided  and  the 
smoke  cleared  away,  we  may  begin  to  see  what  has  actually 
been  done,  permanently  changing  the  state  and  condition 
of  human  society.  And,  without  dwelling  on  particular 
circumstances,  it  is  most  apparent,  that,  from  the  before- 
mentioned  causes  of  augmented  knowledge  and  improved 
individual  condition,  a  real,  substantial,  and  important 
change  has  taken  place,  and  is  taking  place,  highly  favor 
able,  on  the  whole,  to  human  liberty  and  human  happi 
ness. 

31.  The  great  wheel  of  political   revolution  began  to 
move  in  America.     Here  its  rotation  was  guarded,  regular, 
and  safe.     Transferred  to  the  other  continent,  from  un 
fortunate  but  natural  causes,  it  received  an  irregular  and 
violent  impulse  ;  it  whirled  along  with  a  fearful  celerity  ; 
till  at  length,  like  the  chariot  wheels  in  the  races  of  an 
tiquity,  it  took  fire  from  the  rapidity  of  its  own  motion, 
and   blazed   onward,   spreading   conflagration    and   terror 
around.1 

32.  We  learn  from  the  result  of  this  experiment  how 
fortunate  was  our  own  condition,  and  how  admirably  the 
character  of  our  people  was  calculated  for  setting  the  great 
example    of    popular    governments.     The    possession   of 
power  did  not  turn  the  heads  of  the  American  people,  for 
they  had  long  been  in  the  habit  of  exercising  a  great  degree 
of  self-control.     Although  the  paramount  authority  of  the 
parent  state  existed  over  them,  yet  a  large  field  of  legisla 
tion   had  always  been  open   to  our   Colonial   assemblies. 
They  were   accustomed  to  representative  bodies  and  the 

1  The  reference  is  to  the  violence  and  bloodshed  which  attended 
the  revolution  in  France. 


20  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

forms  of  free  government ;  they  understood  the  doctrine 
of  the  division  of  power  among  different  branches,  and  the 
necessity  of  checks  on  each.  The  character  of  our  coun 
trymen,  moreover,  was  sober,  moral,  and  religious ;  and 
there  was  little  in  the  change  to  shock  their  feelings  of 
justice  and  humanity,  or  even  to  disturb  an  honest  preju 
dice.  We  had  no  domestic  throne  to  overturn,  no  privi 
leged  orders  to  cast  down,  no  violent  changes  of  property 
to  encounter.  In  the  American  Revolution,  no  man 
sought  or  wished  for  more  than  to  defend  and  enjoy  his 
own.  None  hoped  for  plunder  or  for  spoil.  Rapacity 
was  unknown  to  it ;  the  ax  was  not  among  the  instruments 
of  its  accomplishment ;  and  we  all  know  that  it  could  not 
have  lived  a  single  day  under  any  well-founded  imputation 
of  possessing  a  tendency  adverse  to  the  Christian  religion. 
33.  It  need  not  surprise  us,  that,  under  circumstances 
less  auspicious,  political  revolutions  elsewhere,  even  when 
well  intended,  have  terminated  differently.  It  is,  indeed, 
a  great  achievement,  it  is  the  master-work  of  the  world,  to 
establish  governments  entirely  popular  on  lasting  foun 
dations  ;  nor  is  it  easy,  indeed,  to  introduce  the  popular 
principle  at  all  into  governments  to  which  it  has  been 
altogether  a  stranger.  It  cannot  be  doubted,  however, 
that  Europe  has  come  out  of  the  contest,  in  which  she  has 
been  so  long  engaged,  with  greatly  superior  knowledge, 
and,  in  many  respects,  in  a  highly  improved  condition. 
Whatever  benefit  has  been  acquired  is  likely  to  be  retained, 
for  it  consists  mainly  in  the  acquisition  of  more  enlight 
ened  ideas.  And  although  kingdoms  and  provinces  may 
be  wrested  from  the  hands  that  hold  them,  in  the  same 
manner  they  were  obtained  ;  although  ordinary  and  vul 
gar  power  may,  in  human  affairs,  be  lost  as  it  has  been 
won  ;  yet  it  is  the  glorious  prerogative  of  the  empire  of 
knowledge,  that  what  it  gains  it  never  loses.  On  the  con 
trary,  it  increases  by  the  multiple  of  its  own  power ;  all  its 


THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT  21 

ends  become  means  ;  all  its  attainments  help  to  new  con 
quests.  Its  whole  abundant  harvest  is  but  so  much  seed 
wheat,  and  nothing  has  limited,  and  nothing  can  limit, 
the  amount  of  ultimate  product. 

34.  Under    the    influence    of    this    rapidly   increasing 
knowledge,  the  people  have  begun,  in  all  forms  of  govern 
ment,  to  think,  and  to  reason,  on  affairs   of  state.     Re 
garding  government  as  an  institution  for  the  public  good, 
they  demand  a  knowledge  of  its  operations  and  a  partici 
pation  in  its  exercise.     A  call  for  the  representative  sys 
tem,  wherever  it  is  not  enjoyed,  and  where  there  is  already 
intelligence  enough  to  estimate  its  value,  is  perseveringly 
made.     Where  men  may  speak  out,  they  demand  it ;  where 
the  bayonet  is  at  their  throats,  they  pray  for  it. 

35.  When  Louis  the  Fourteenth  said,  "  I  am  the  state," 
he  expressed    the   essence   of   the  doctrine  of  unlimited 
power.     By  the  rules  of  that  system,  the  people  are  dis 
connected  from  the  state  ;  they  are  its  subjects  ;  it  is  their 
lord.     These  ideas,  founded  in  the  love  of  power,  and  long 
supported  by  the  excess  and  the  abuse  of  it,  are  yielding, 
in  our  age,   to  other   opinions  ;  and   the    civilized  world 
seems  at  last  to  be  proceeding  to   the  conviction  of  that 
fundamental  and  manifest  truth,  that  the  powers  of  gov 
ernment  are  but  a  trust,  and  that  they  cannot  be  lawfully 
exercised  but  for  the  good  of  the  community.     As  knowl 
edge  is  more  and  more  extended,  this  conviction  becomes 
more  and  more  general.     Knowledge,  in  truth,  is  the  great 
sun  in  the  firmament.     Life  and  power  are  scattered  with 
all  its  beams.     The  prayer  of  the  Grecian  champion,1  when 
enveloped  in  unnatural  clouds  and  darkness,  is  the  appro 
priate  political  supplication  for  the  people  of  every  country 
not  yet  blessed  with  free  institutions  : — 

"  Dispel  this  cloud,  the  light  of  heaven  restore. 

Give  me  TO  SEE, — and  Ajax  asks  no  more." 

1  Ajax,  in  Homer's  Iliad,  Book  xvii. 


22  DAXIKL    WEBSTER 

36.  We  may  hope  that  the  growing  influence  of  enlight 
ened  sentiment  will  promote  the  permanent  peace  of  the 
world.     Wars  to  maintain  family  alliances,  to  uphold  or  to 
cast  down  dynasties,  and  to  regulate  successions  to  thrones, 
which  have  occupied  so  much  room  in  the  history  of  mod 
ern  times,  if  not  less  likely  to  happen  at  all,  will  be  less 
likely  to  become  general  and  involve  many  nations,  as  the 
great  principle  shall  be  more  and  more  established,  that 
the  interest  of  the  world  is  peace,  and  its  first  great  statute 
that  every  nation  possesses  the  power  of  establishing  a  gov 
ernment  for  itself.     But  public  opinion  has  attained  also 
an  influence  over  governments  which   do  not   admit  the 
popular  principle  into  their  organization.     A  necessary  re 
spect  for  the  judgment  of  the   world  operates,  in    some 
measure,  as  a  control  over  the  most  unlimited  forms  of  au 
thority.     It  is  owing,  perhaps,  to  this  truth,  that  the  in 
teresting  struggle  of  the  Greeks1  has  been  suffered  to  go 
on  so  long,  without  a  direct  interference,  either  to  wrest 
that  country  from  its  present  masters,  or  to  execute  the 
system  of  pacification  by  force,  and,  with  united  strength, 
lay   the   neck   of    Christian  and    civilized    Greek    at    the 
foot  of  the  barbarian  Turk.     Let  us  thank  God  that  we 
live  in  an  age  when  something  has  influence  besides  the 
bayonet,  and  when  the  sternest  authority  does  not  venture 
to  encounter  the   scorching  power   of    public   reproach. 
Any  attempt  of  the  kind  I  have  mentioned  should  be  met 
by  one  universal  burst  of  indignation  ;  the  air  of  the  civi 
lized  world  ought  to  be  made  too  warm  to  be  comfortably 
breathed  by  any  one  who  would  hazard  it. 

37.  It  is,  indeed,  a  touching  reflection,  that,  while,  in 
the  fullness  of  our  country's  happiness,  we  rear  this  monu 
ment  to  her  honor,  we  look  for  instruction  in  our  under 
taking  to  a  country  which  is  now  in  fearful  contest,  not 

1  The  war  of  the  Greek  revolution  against  Turkey,  begun  in  1821 
and  brought  to  a  close  in  1828. 


THE  BUNK  MR  HILL  MONUMENT  23 

for  works  of  art  or  memorials  of  glory,  but  for  her  own 
existence.  Let  her  be  assured  that  she  is  not  forgotten  in 
the1  world  ;  that  her  efforts  are  applauded,  and  that  constant 
prayers  ascend  for  her  success.  And  let  us  cherish  a  con 
fident  hope  for  her  final  triumph.  If  the  true  spark  of 
religious  and  civil  liberty  be  kindled,  it  will  burn.  Human 
agency  cannot  extinguish  it.  Like  the  earth's  central  fire, 
it  may  be  smothered  fora  time  ;  the  ocean  may  overwhelm 
it ;  mountains  may  press  it  down  ;  but  its  inherent  and 
unconquerable  force  will  heave  both  the  ocean  and  the 
land,  and  at  some  time  or  other,  in  some  place  or  other, 
the  volcano  will  break  out  and  flame  up  to  heaven. 

38.  Among  the  great  events  of  the  half-century  we  must 
reckon,  certainly,  the  revolution  of  South  America  ;  and 
we  are  not  likely  to  overrate  the  importance  of  that  revolu 
tion,  either  to  the  people  of  the  country  itself  or  to  the  rest 
of  the  world.     The  late  Spanish  colonies,  now  independent 
states,  under  circumstances  less  favorable,  doubtless,  than 
attended  our  own  Revolution,  have  yet  successfully  com 
menced  their  national  existence.     They  have  accomplished 
the  great  object  of  establishing  their  independence  ;  they 
are  known  and  acknowledged  in  the  world  ;  and  although 
in  regard  to  their  systems  of  government,  their  sentiments 
on  religious  toleration,  and  their  provisions  for  public  in 
struction,  they  may  have  yet  much  to  learn,  it   must  be 
admitted  that  they  have  risen  to  the  condition  of  settled 
and   established  states  more  rapidly  than  could  have  been 
reasonably  anticipated.     They  already  furnish  an  exhilarat 
ing  example  of  the  difference  between  free   governments 
and  despotic  misrule.     Their  commerce,  at  this  moment, 
creates  a  new  activity  in  all  the  great  marts  of  the  world. 
They  show  themselves  able,  by  an  exchange  of  commodities,, 
to  bear  a  useful  part  in  the  intercourse  of  nations. 

39.  A  new  spirit  of  enterprise  and  industry  begins   to 
prevail ;  all  the  great  interests  of  society  receive  a  salutary 


24  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

impulse  ;  and  the  progress  of  information  not  only  testifies 
to  an  improved  condition,  but  itself  constitutes  the  highest 
and  most  essential  improvement. 

40.  When  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was  fought,  the  ex 
istence  of  South  America  was  scarcely  felt  in  the  civilized 
Avorld.  The  thirteen  little  Colonies  of  North  America 
habitually  called  themselves  the  ''Continent."  Borne 
down  by  colonial  subjugation,  monopoly,  and  bigotry, 
these  vast  regions  of  the  South  were  hardly  visible  above 
the  horizon.  But  in  our  day  there  has  been,  as  it  were,  a 
new  creation.  The  southern  hemisphere  emerges  from  the 
sea.  Its  lofty  mountains  begin  to  lift  themselves  into  the 
light  of  heaven  ;  its  broad  and  fertile  plains  stretch  out,  in 
beauty,  to  the  eye  of  civilized  man,  and  at  the  mighty  bid 
ding  of  the  voice  of  political  liberty  the  waters  of  darkness 
retire. 

VIII.  41.  And  now,  let  us  indulge  an  honest  exultation 
in  the  conviction  of  the  benefit  which  the  example  of  our 
country  has  produced,  and  is  likely  to  produce,  on  human 
freedom  and  human  happiness.  Let  us  endeavor  to  com 
prehend  in  all  its  magnitude,  and  to  feel  in  all  its  impor 
tance,  the  part  assigned  to  us  in  the  great  drama  of  human 
affairs.  We  are  placed  at  the  head  of  the  system  of  repre 
sentative  and  popular  governments.  Thus  far  our  example 
shows  that  such  governments  are  compatible,  7iot  only 
with  respectability  and  power,  but  with  repose,  with  peace, 
with  security  of  personal  rights,  with  good  laws,  and  a  just 
administration. 

42.  We  are  not  propagandists.  Wherever  other  systems 
are  preferred,  either  as  being  thought  better  in  themselves, 
or  as  better  suited  to  existing  condition,  we  leave  the  pref 
erence  to  be  enjoyed.  Our  history  hitherto  proves,  how 
ever,  that  the  popular  form  is  practicable,  and  that  with 
wisdom  and  knowledge  men  may  govern  themselves ;  and 


THE  BUNKER  HILL  MONUMENT  25 

the  duty  incumbent  on  us  is,  to  preserve  the  consistency  of 
this  cheering  example,  and  take  care  that  nothing  may 
weaken  its  authority  with  the  world.  If,  in  our  case,  the 
representative  system  ultimately  fail,  popular  governments 
must  be  pronounced  impossible.  Xo  combination  of  cir 
cumstances  more  favorable  to  the  experiment  can  ever  be 
expected  to  occur.  The  last  hopes  of  mankind,  therefore, 
rest  with  us  ;  and  if  it  should  be  proclaimed,  that  our  ex 
ample  had  become  an  argument  against  the  experiment, 
the  knell  of  popular  liberty  would  be  sounded  throughout 
the  earth. 

43.  These  are  excitements  to  duty ;  but  they  are  not 
suggestions  of  doubt.  Our  history  and  our  condition,  all 
that  is  gone  before  us,  and  all  that  surrounds  us,  authorize 
the  belief,  that  popular  governments,  though  subject  to 
occasional  variations,  in  form  perhaps  not  always  for  the 
better,  may  yet,  in  their  general  character,  be  as  durable 
and  permanent  as  other  systems.  We  know,  indeed,  that 
in  our  country  any  other  is  impossible.  The  principle  of 
free  governments  adheres  to  the  American  soil.  It  is 
bedded  in  it,  immovable  as  its  mountains. 

•i-i.  And  let  the  sacred  obligations  which  have  devolved 
on  this  generation,  and  on  us,  sink  deep  into  our  hearts. 
Those  who  established  our  liberty  and  our  government  are 
daily  dropping  from  among  us.  The  great  trust  now  de 
scends  to  new  hands.  Let  us  apply  ourselves  to  that  which 
is  presented  to  us,  as  our  appropriate  object.  We  can  win 
no  laurels  in  a  war  for  independence.  Earlier  and  worthier 
hands  have  gathered  them  all.  Xor  are  there  places  for  us 
by  the  side  of  Solon,  and  Alfred,  and  other  founders  of 
states.  Our  fathers  have  filled  them.  But  there  remains 
to  us  a  great  duty  of  defence  and  preservation  ;  and  there 
is  opened  to  us.  also,  a  noble  pursuit  to  which  the  spirit 
of  the  times  strongly  invites  us.  Our  proper  business  is 
improvement.  Let  our  age  be  the  age  of  improvement. 


26  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

In  a  day  of  peace,  let  us  advance  the  arts  of  peace  and  the 
works  of  peace.  Let  us  develop  the  resources  of  our  land, 
call  forth  its  powers,  build  up  its  institutions,  promote  all 
its  great  interests,  and  see  whether  we  also,  in  our  day  and 
generation,  may  not  perform  something  worthy  to  be  re 
membered.  Let  us  cultivate  a  true  spirit  of  union  and 
harmony.  In  pursuing  the  great  objects  which  our  con 
dition  points  out  to  us,  let  us  act  under  a  settled  conviction 
and  an  habitual  feeling,  that  these  twenty-four  States  are 
one  country.  Let  our  conceptions  be  enlarged  to  the  circle 
of  our  duties.  Let  us  extend  our  ideas  over  the  whole  of 
the  vast  field  in  which  we  are  called  to  act.  Let  our  ob 
ject  be,  OUR  COUNTRY,  OUR  AVHOLE  COUNTRY,  AND  NOTH 
ING  BUT  OUR  COUNTRY.  And,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  may 
that  country  itself  become  a  vast  and  splendid  monument, 
not  of  oppression  and  terror,  but  of  Wisdom,  of  Peace,  and 
of  Liberty,  upon  which  the  world  may  gaze  with  admira 
tion  forever  1 


THE  COMPLETION  OF  THE  BUNKER 
HILL  MONUMENT 

AN   ADDRESS   DELIVERED   ON    BUNKER   HILL,  ON   THE  1?TH  OF  JUNE, 
1843,  ON   THE    OCCASION   OF   THE   COMPLETION   OF  THE   MONUMENT 


[SEVENTEEN  years  after  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone,  Bunker  Hill 
Monument  was  completed.  At  the  celebration,  the  succeeding  year, 
Mr.  Webster  was  again  requested  to  deliver  the  address.  The  scene  is 
thus  described  by  Mr.  Plumer  :  "  I  attended  the  Bunker  Hill  celebration 
on  the  17th.  ...  I  never  before  saw  so  many  people  together, 
and  probably  never  shall  again — a  hundred  thousand  human  beings — 
some  say  twice  that  number — all  intent  on  one  object,  all  pleased 
and  giving  pleasure,  happy  themselves,  and  making  others  happy.  I 
was  in  the  crowd,  on  my  feet,  but  near  enough  not  only  to  hear  the 
oration  of  Webster,  but  to  see  the  flash  of  his  large  black  eye,  and  ob 
serve  the  movements  of  his  face  as  well  as  of  his  body.  The  discourse 
was  worthy  of  the  man  and  of  the  occasion,  each  highest  of  its  kind. 
Webster  bears  on  his  body  the  marks  of  labor  and  of  age.  When  I 
spoke  to  him  next  day  of  his  address,  he  said  he  was  too  old  for  such 
an  occasion.  I  told  him  that  nobody  else  thought  him  so.  Compared, 
however,  with  the  discourse  on  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the  monu 
ment,  eighteen  years  ago  it  may  be  remarked  that,  with  less  brilliancy, 
it  has  more  thought ;  with  equal  force,  less  imagination  ;  with  a  wider 
experience,  a  less  moving  eloquence.  There  are,  however,  even  in 
this  latter  respect,  some  very  effective  passages  in  the  present  address. 
That  in  which  the  monument  itself  is  spoken  of  as  the  great  orator  of 
the  day,  and  that  in  which  its  connection  with  the  union  of  the  States 
is  represented,  produced  upon  the  audience  the  most  thrilling  effect. 
The  heart  of  that  mighty  multitude  beat,  as  if  by  one  mighty  impulse 
in  lofty  and  patriotic  emotion,  proud  and  magnanimous,  yet  obedient 
to  the  will  and  the  motion,  the  words  and  the  action,  of  the  mighty 
master.  .  .  .  The  great  mass  of  the  people  were  on  their  feet, 


28  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

standing  still,  with  all  eyes  intent  upon  the  speaker  ;  but  every  now 
and  then  the  whole  mass  was  in  motion,  moving  backward  and  for 
ward,  each  man  over  a  space  of  some  two  or  three  feet,  and  these 
tides  irregular  in  their  access,  seemed  yet  connected  with  the  orator, 
and  responsive  to  his  action  on  the  minds  of  his  hearers." — Quoted  in 
Curtis's  Life  of  Webster,  vol.  i.,  p.  608.] 

1.  1.   A  DUTY  has  been  performed.     A  work  of  gratitude 
and  patriotism  is  completed.      This  structure,  having  its 
foundations  in    soil   which   drank   deep  of  early  Kevolu- 
tionary  blood,  has  at  length  reached  its  destined  height,, 
and  now  lifts  its  summit  to  the  skies. 

2.  We  have  assembled  to  celebrate  the  accomplishment 
of  this  undertaking,  and  to  indulge  afresh  in  the  recol 
lection  of  the  great  event  which  it  is  designed  to  com 
memorate.     Eighteen  years,  more  than  half  the  ordinary 
duration  of  a  generation  of  mankind,  have  elapsed  since 
the  corner-stone  of  this  monument  was  laid.     The  hopes  of 
its  projectors  rested  on  voluntary  contributions,   private 
munificence,  and  the  general  favor  of  the  public.     These 
hopes  have  not  been  disappointed.     Donations  have  been 
made  by  individuals,  in  some  cases  of  large  amount,  and 
smaller  sums  have  been  contributed  by  thousands.     All 
who  regard  the  object  itself  as  important,  and  its  accom 
plishment,  therefore,  as  a  good  attained,  will  entertain  sin 
cere  respect  and  gratitude  for  the  unwearied  efforts  of  the 
successive  presidents,  boards  of  directors,  and  committees 
of  the  Association  which  has  had  the  general  control  of  the 
work.     The  architect,  equally  entitled  to  our  thanks  and 
commendation,  will  find  other  reward,  also,  for  his  labor 
and  skill,  in  the  beauty  and.  elegance  of  the  obelisk  itself, 
and  the  distinction  which,  as  a  work  of  art,  it  confers  upon 
him. 

3.  At  a  period  when  the  prospects  of  further  progress 
in   the    undertaking  were   gloomy   and   discouraging,  the 
Mechanic  Association,  by  a  most  praiseworthy  and  vigorous 


THE  COMPLETION  OF  THE  MONUMENT         29 

effort,  raised  new  funds  for  carrying  it  forward,  and  saw 
them  applied  with  fidelity,  economy,  and  skill.  It  is  a 
grateful  duty  to  make  public  acknowledgments  of  such 
timely  and  efficient  aid. 

4.  The  last  effort  and  the  last  contribution  were  from  a 
different  .source.     Garlands  of   grace   and   elegance   were 
destined  to  crown  a  work  which  had  its  commencement  in 
manly   patriotism.     The    winning   power   of    the  sex  ad 
dressed  itself  to  the  public,  and  all  that  was  needed  to 
carry  the  monument  to  its  proposed  height,  and  to  give  to 
it  its  finish,  was  promptly  supplied.     The  mothers  and  the 
daughters  of  the  land  contributed  thus,  most  successfully, 
to  whatever  there  is  of  beauty  in  the  monument  itself,  or 
whatever  of   utility  and  public   benefit  and   gratification 
there  is  in  its  completion.1 

5.  Of  those  with  whom  the  plan  originated  of  erecting 
on  this  spot  a  monument  worthy  of  the  event  to  be  com 
memorated,  many  are  now  present  ;  but  others,  alas  !  have 
themselves   become   subjects  of  monumental  inscription. 
William  Tudor,  an  accomplished  scholar,  a  distinguished 
writer,  a  most  amiable  man,  allied  both  by  birth  and  sen 
timent  to  the  patriots  of  the  Revolution,  died  while  on 
public  service  abroad,  and  now  lies   buried  in  a  foreign 
land.      William  Sullivan,  a  name  fragrant  of  Revolutionary 
merit,  and   of  public  service  and  public  virtue,  who  him 
self  partook   in  a   high  degree  of  the  respect  and  confi 
dence  of  the  community,  and  yet  was  always  most  loved 
where  best  known,  has  also  been  gathered  to  his  fathers. 
And  last,  George  Blake,  a  lawyer  of  learning  and  eloquence, 
a  man  of  wit  and  of  talent,  of  social  qualities  the  most 
agreeable  and  fascinating,  and  of  gifts  which  enabled  him 
to  exercise  large  sway  over  public  assemblies,  has  closed 
his  human  career.     I  know  that  in  the  crowds  before  me 

1  Referring  to  a  fair  held  by  the  women  of  Boston,  in  Faneuil  Hall, 
to  raise  money  for  completing  the  monument. 


30  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

there  are  those  from  whose  eyes  tears  will  flow  at  the  men 
tion  of  these  names.  But  such  mention  is  due  to  their 
general  character,  their  public  and  private  virtues,  and 
especially,  on  this  occasion,  to  the  spirit  and  zeal  with 
which  they  entered  into  the  undertaking  which  is  now 
completed. 

().  I  have  spoken  only  of  those  who  are  no  longer  num 
bered  with  the  living.  But  a  long  life,  now  drawing 
towards  its  close,  always  distinguished  by  acts  of  public 
spirit,  humanity,  and  charity,  forming  a  character  which 
has  already  become  historical,  and  sanctified  by  public  re 
gard  and  the  affection  of  friends,  may  confer  even  on  the 
living  the  proper  immunity  l  of  the  dead,  and  be  the  fit 
subject  of  honorable  mention  and  warm  commendation. 
Of  the  early  projectors  of  the  design  of  this  monument, 
one  of  the  most  prominent,  the  most  zealous,  and  the  most 
efficient,  is  Thomas  II.  Perkins.  It  was  beneath  his  ever 
hospitable  roof  that  those  whom  I  have  mentioned,  and 
others  yet  living  and  now  present,  having  assembled  for 
the  purpose,  adopted  the  first  step  towards  erecting  a  mon 
ument  on  Bunker  Hill.  Long  may  he  remain,  with  un 
impaired  faculties,  in  the  wide  field  of  his  usefulness  ! 
His  charities  have  distilled  like  the  dews  of  heaven  ;  he  has 
fed  the  hungry,  and  clothed  the  naked ;  he  has  given  sight 
to  the  blind  ;  and  for  such  virtues  there  is  a  reward  on 
high  of  which  all  human  memorials,  all  language  of  brass 
and  stone,  are  but  humble  types  and  attempted  imitations. 

7.  Time  and  nature  have  had  their  course,  in  diminish 
ing  the  number  of  those  whom  we  met  here  on  the  17th 
of  June,  1825.  Most  of  the  Revolutionary  characters  then 
present  have  since  deceased  ;  and  Lafayette  sleeps  in  his 
native  land.  Yet  the  name  and  blood  of  Warren  are  with 
us  ;  the  kindred  of  Putnam  are  also  here  ;  and  near  me, 
universally  beloved  for  his  character  and  his  virtues,  and 
1  In  the  sense  of  "  prerogative,"  not  of  "exemption." 


THE  COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT          31 

now  venerable  for  his  years,  sits  the  son  of  the  noble- 
hearted  and  daring  Prescott.  Gideon  Foster  of  Danvers, 
Enos  Reynolds  of  Boxford,  Pliineas  Johnson,  Robert  An 
drews,  Elijah  Dresser,  Josiah  Cleaveland,  Jesse  Smith, 
Philip  Bagley,  Xeedham  Maynard,  Roger  Plaisted,  Joseph 
Stephens,  Xehemiah  Porter,  and  James  Harvey,  who  bore 
arms  for  their  country  either  at  Concord  and  Lexington, 
on  the  19th  of  April,  or  on  Bunker  Hill,  all  now  far  ad 
vanced  in  age,  have  come  here  to-day,  to  look  once  more 
on  the  field  where  their  valor  was  proved,  and  to  receive  a 
hearty  outpouring  of  our  respect. 

8.  They  have  long  outlived  the  troubles  and  dangers  of 
the  Revolution  ;  they  have  outlived  the  evils  arising  from 
the  want  of  a  united  and  efficient  government  ;  they  have 
outlived  the  menace  of  imminent  dangers  to  the  public  lib 
erty  ;  they  have  outlived  nearly  all  their  contemporaries  ; 
but  they  have  not  outlived,  they  cannot  outlive,  the  affec 
tionate  gratitude  of  their  country.  Heaven  has  not  allotted 
to  this  generation  an  opportunity  of  rendering  high  ser 
vices,  and  manifesting  strong  personal  devotion,  such  as 
they  rendered  and  manifested,  and  in  such  a  cause  as  that 
which  roused  the  patriotic  fires  of  their  youthful  breasts, 
and  nerved  the  strength  of  their  arms.  But  we  may  praise 
what  we  cannot  equal,  and  celebrate  actions  which  we 
were  not  born  to  perform.  Pulchrum  est  benefacere  rei- 
B,  etiam  benediccre  hand  absurdum  est.1 


II.  9.  The  Bunker  Hill  Monument  is  finished.  Here  it 
stands.  Fortunate  in  the  high  natural  eminence  on  which 
it  is  placed,  higher,  infinitely  higher  in  its  objects  and 
purpose,  it  rises  over  the  laud  and  over  the  sea  ;  and,  vis 
ible,  at  their  homes,  to  three  hundred  thousand  of  the 
people  of  Massachusetts,  it  stands  a  memorial  of  the  last, 

'  "  It  is  becoming  to  act  well  for  the  republic  ;  to  speak  well  of  it 
even  is  not  discreditable."  —  Sallust,  De  Coitjar.  C^tiliitOB,  iii, 


32  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

and  a  monitor  to  the  present  and  to  all  succeeding  gener 
ations.  I  have  spoken  of  the  loftiness  of  its  purpose.  If 
it  had  been  without  any  other  design  than  the  creation  of 
a  work  of  art,  the  granite  of  which  it  is  composed  would 
have  slept  in  its  native  bed.  It  has  a  purpose,  and  that 
purpose  gives  it  its  character.  That  purpose  enrobes  it 
with  dignity  and  moral  grandeur.  That  well-known  pur 
pose  it  is  which  causes  us  to  look  up  to  it  with  a  feeling  of 
awe.  It  is  itself  the  orator  of  this  occasion.  It  is  not 
from  my  lips,  it  could  not  be  from  any  human  lips,  that 
that  strain  of  eloquence  is  this  day  to  flow  most  competent 
to  move  and  excite  the  vast  multitudes  around  me.  The 
powerful  speaker  stands  motionless  before  us.1  It  is  a 
plain  shaft.  It  bears  no  inscriptions,  fronting  to  the  ris 
ing  sun,  from  which  the  future  antiquary  shall  wipe  the 
dust.  Xor  does  the  rising  sun  cause  tones  of  music  to 
issue  from  its  summit.  But  at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and 
at  the  setting  of  the  sun,  in  the  blaze  of  noonday,  and  be 
neath  the  milder  effulgence  of  lunar  light  ;  it  looks,  it 
speaks,  it  acts,  to  the  full  comprehension  of  every  Amer 
ican  mind,  and  the  awakening  of  glowing  enthusiasm  in 
every  American  heart.  Its  silent,  but  awful  utterance  ; 
its  deep  pathos,  as  it  brings  to  our  contemplation  the  17th 
of  June,  1775,  and  the  consequences  which  have  resulted 
to  us,  to  our  country,  and  to  the  world,  from  the  events  of 

1  "  I  was  one  of  that  vast  throng,  gathered  at  Bunker  Hill,  which 
saw  Webster  raise  his  outstretched  arm  up  to  the  newly  completed 
monument,  and  heard  him  say  :  '  It  is  not  from  my  lips  —  it  could  not 
be  from  any  lips — that  the  stream  of  eloquence  is  this  day  to  flow, 
most  competent  to  move  and  excite  this  vast  multitude  around  me. 
The  powerful  speaker  stands  motionless  before  ?/«.'  T  felt  the  tin-ill 
which  ran  through  that  vast  audience,  and  I  saw  their  uplifted  eyes 
and  blanched  cheeks,  and  joined  in  that  responsive  shout  which  told, 
as  no  words  could  tell,  that  we  had  heard  one  of  the  most  perfect  pas 
sages  in  all  oratory." — Judge  Mellen  Chamberlain,  in  the  Century 
Magazine,  vol.  xxiv.,  p.  711. 


THE   COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT          33 

that  day,  and  which  \ve  know  must  continue  to  rain  influ 
ence  on  the  destinies  of  mankind  to  the  end  of  time  ;  the 
elevation  witli  which  it  raises  us  high  above  the  ordinary 
feelings  of  life,  surpass  all  that  the  study  of  the  closet,  or 
even  the  inspiration  of  genius,  can  produce.  To-day  it 
speaks  to  us.  Its  future  auditories  will  be  the  successive 
generations  of  men  as  they  rise  up  before  it  and  gather 
around  it.  Its  speech  will  be  of  patriotism  and  courage  ; 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty  ;  of  free  government  ;  of  the 
moral  improvement  and  elevation  of  mankind  ;  and  of  the 
immortal  memory  of  those  who,  with  heroic  devotion,  have 
sacrificed  their  lives  for  their  country. 

10.  In  the    older    world,   numerous   fabrics  still    exist, 
reared  by  human  hands,  but  whose  object  has  been  lost  in 
the  darkness  of  ages.     They  are  now  monuments  of  noth 
ing  but  the  labor  and  skill  which  constructed  them. 

11.  The  mighty  pyramid  itself,  half  buried  in  the  sands 
of  Africa,  has  nothing  to  bring  down  and  report  to  us,  but 
the  power  of  kings  and  the  servitude  of  the  people.     If  it 
had  any  purpose  beyond  that  of  a  mausoleum,  such  pur 
pose  has  perished   from  history  and  from   tradition.     If 
asked  for  its  moral  object,  its  admonition,  its  sentiment, 
its  instruction  to  mankind,  or  any  high  end  in  its  erection, 
it  is  silent  ;  silent  as  the  millions  which  lie  in  the  dust  at 
its  base,  and  in  the  catacombs  which  surround  it.     With 
out  a  just  moral  object,  therefore,  made  known  to  man, 
though  raised  against  the  skies,  it  excites  only  conviction 
of  power,  mixed  with  strange  wonder.     But  if  the  civiliza 
tion  of  the  present  race  of  men,  founded,  as  it  is,  in  solid 
science,  the  true  knowledge  of  nature,  and  vast  discoveries 
in  art,  and  which  is  elevated  and  purified  by  moral  senti 
ment  and  by  the  truths  of  Christianity,  be  not  destined  to 
destruction  before  the  final  termination  of  human  exist 
ence  on  earth,  the  object  and  purpose  of  this  edifice  will 
be  known  till  that  hour  shall  come.     And  even  if  civiliza- 

3 


34  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

tion  should  be  subverted,  and  the  truths  of  the  Christian 
religion  obscured  by  a  new  deluge  of  barbarism,  the  mem 
ory  of  Bunker  Hill  and  the  American  Revolution  will  still 
be  elements  and  parts  of  the  knowledge  which  shall  be 
possessed  by  the  last  man  to  whom  the  light  of  civilization 
and  Christianity  shall  be  extended. 

III.  12.  This  celebration  is  honored  by  the  presence  of 
the  chief  executive  magistrate  of  the  Union.1  An  occasion 
so  national  in  its  object  and  character,  and  so  much  con 
nected  with  that  Revolution  from  which  the  government 
sprang  at  the  head  of  which  he  is  placed,  may  well  receive 
from  him  this  mark  of  attention  and  respect.  Well  ac 
quainted  with  Yorktown,2  the  scene  of  the  last  great  mil 
itary  struggle  of  the  Revolution,  his  eye  now  surveys  the 
field  of  Bunker  Hill,  the  theatre  of  the  first  of  those  im 
portant  conflicts.  He  sees  where  AVarren  fell,  where  Put 
nam  and  Prescott,  and  Stark,  and  Knowlton,  and  Brooks 
fought.  He  beholds  the  spot  where  a  thousand  trained 
soldiers  of  England  were  smitten  to  the  earth,  in  the  first 
effort  of  revolutionary  war,  by  the  arm  of  a  bold  and  de 
termined  yeomanry,  contending  for  liberty  and  their  coun 
try.  And  while  all  assembled  here  entertain  towards  him 
sincere  personal  good  wishes  and  the  high  respect  due  to 
his  elevated  office  and  station,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that 
he  enters,  with  true  American  feeling,  into  the  patriotic 
enthusiasm  kindled  by  the  occasion  which  animates  the 
multitudes  that  surround  him. 

13.  His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth, 
the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  and  the  other  distinguished 
public  men  whom  we  have  the  honor  to  receive  as  visitors 
and  guests  to-day,  will  cordially  unite  in  a  celebration  con 
nected  with  the  great  event  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 

1  President  Tyler. 

"  Because  lie  was  born  not  very  far  from  that  city. 


THE   COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT          35 

14.  No  name  in  the  history  of  1775  and  1770  is  more  dis 
tinguished    than   that    borne   by   an   ex-president   of    the 
United  States,1  whom  we  expected  to  see  here,  but  whose 
ill    health    prevents   his   attendance.      Whenever   popular 
rights  were  to  be  asserted,   an  Adams  was  present;  and 
when  the  time  came  for  the  formal  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence,  it  was  the  voice  of  an  Adams  that  shook  the  halls  of 
Congress.    We  wish  we  could  have  welcomed  to  us  this  day 
the  inheritor  of   Revolutionary  blood,  and  the  just  and 
worthy  representative  of  high  Revolutionary  names,  merit, 
and  services. 

15.  Banners  and  badges,  processions  and  flags,  announce 
to  us,  that  amidst  this  uncounted  throng  are  thousands 
of  natives  of  New  England  now  residents  in  other  States. 
Welcome,  ye  kindred  names,  with  kindred  blood  !     From 
the  broad  savannas  of  the  South,  from  the  newer  regions 
of   the    West,    from   amidst    the   hundreds   of   thousands 
of  men  of  Eastern  origin  who  cultivate  the  rich  valley  of 
the  Genesee,  or  live  along  the  chain  of  the  Lakes,  from 
the  mountains  of   Pennsylvania,   and  from  the  thronged 
cities  of  the  coast,  welcome,  welcome  !     Wherever  else  you 
may  be  strangers,  here  you  are  all  at  home.     You  assemble 
at  this  shrine  of  liberty,  near  the  family  altars  at  which 
your  earliest  devotions  were  paid  to  Heaven  ;  near  to  the 
temples  of  worship  first  entered  by  you,  and  near  to  the 
schools  and  colleges  in  which  your  education  was  received. 
You  come  hither  with  a  glorious  ancestry  of  liberty.     You 
bring  names  which  are  on  the  rolls  of  Lexington,  Concord, 
and  Bunker  Hill.     You  come,  some  of  yon,  once  more  to 
be  embraced  by  an  aged  Revolutionary  father,  or  to  receive 
another,  perhaps  a   last,  blessing,  bestowed    in  love   and 
tears,  by  a  mother,  yet  surviving  to  witness  and  to  enjoy 
your  prosperity  and  happiness. 

16.  But  if  family  associations  and  the  recollections  of  the 

1  John  Quincy  Adams. 


36  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

past  bring  you  hither  with  greater  alacrity,  and  mingle 
with  your  greeting  much  of  local  attachment  and  private 
affection,  greeting  also  be  given,  free  and  hearty  greeting, 
to  every  American  citizen  who  treads  this  sacred  soil  with 
patriotic  feeling,  and  respires  with  pleasure  in  an  atmos 
phere  perfumed  with  the  recollections  of  1775  !  This  oc 
casion  is  respectable,  nay,  it  is  grand,  it  is  sublime,  by  the 
nationality  of  its  sentiment.  Among  the  seventeen  mill 
ions  of  happy  people  who  form  the  American  community, 
there  is  not  one  who  has  not  an  interest  in  this  monument, 
as  there  is  not  one  that  has  not  a  deep  and  abiding  interest 
in  that  which  it  commemorates. 

17.  "Woe  betide  the  man  who  brings  to  this  day's  worship 
feeling  less  than  wholly  American  !  Woe  betide  the  man 
who  can  stand  here  with  the  fires  of  local  resentments  burn 
ing,  or  the  purpose  of  fomenting  local  jealousies  and  the 
strifes  of  local  interests  festering  and  rankling  in  his  heart  ! 
Union,  established  in  justice,  in  patriotism,  and  the  most 
plain  and  obvious  common  interest, — union,  founded  on  the 
same  love  of  liberty,  cemented  by  blood  shed  in  the  same 
common  cause, — union  has  been  the  source  of  all  our  glory 
and  greatness  thus  far,  and  is  the  ground  of  all  our  high 
est  hopes.  This  column  stands  on  Union.  I  know  not 
that  it  might  not  keep  its  position  if  the  American  Union. 
in  the  mad  conflict  of  human  passions,  and  in  the  strife  of 
parties  and  factions,  should  be  broken  up  and  destroyed. 
I  know  not  that  it  would  totter  and  fall  to  the  earth,  and 
mingle  its  fragments  with  the  fragments  of  Liberty  and 
the  Constitution,  when  State  should  be  separated  from 
State,  and  faction  and  dismemberment  obliterate  forever 
all  the  hopes  of  the  founders  of  our  republic,  and  tin- 
great  inheritance  of  their  children.  It  might  stand.  Hut 
who,  from  beneath  the  weight  of  mortification  and  shame 
that  would  oppress  him,  could  look  up  to  behold  it  '? 
Whose  eyeballs  would  not  be  seared  by  such  a  spectacle  ? 


TIIK   COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT          37 

For  my  part,  should  I  live  to  such  a  time,  I  shall  avert  my 
eyes  from  it  forever. 

IV.  18.  It  is  not  as  a  mere  military  encounter  of  hostile 
armies,  that  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  presents  its  principal 
claim  to  attention.  Yet,  even  as  a  mere  battle,  there  were 
circumstances  attending  it  extraordinary  in  character,  and 
entitling  it  to  peculiar  distinction.  It  was  fought  on  this 
eminence  ;  in  the  neighborhood  of  yonder  city  ;  in  the  pres 
ence  of  many  more  spectators  than  there  were  combatants 
in  the  conflict.  Men,  women,  and  children,  from  every 
commanding  position,  were  gazing  at  the  battle,  and  look 
ing  for  its  results  with  all  the  eagerness  natural  to  those 
who  knew  that  the  issue  was  fraught  with  the  deepest  con 
sequences  to  themselves  personally,  as  well  as  to  their  coun 
try.  Yet  on  the  16th  of  June,  1775,  there  was  nothing 
around  this  hill  but  verdure  and  culture.1  There  was,  in 
deed,  the  note  of  awful  preparation  in  Boston.  There  was 
the  Provincial  army  at  Cambridge,  with  its  right  flank  rest 
ing  on  Dorchester,  and  its  left  on  Chelsea.  But  here  all 
was  peace.  Tranquillity  reigned  around.  On  the  17th 
everything  was  changed.  On  this  eminence  had  arisen,  in 
the  night,  a  redoubt,  built  by  Prescott,  and  in  which  he 
held  command.  Perceived  by  the  enemy  at  dawn,  it  was 
immediately  cannonaded  from  the  floating  batteries  in  the 
river,  and  from  the  opposite  shore.  And  then  ensued  the 
hurried  movement  in  Boston,  and  soon  the  troops  of  Brit 
ain  embarked  in  the  attempt  to  dislodge  the  Colonists.  In 
an  hour  everything  indicated  an  immediate  and  bloody 
conflict.  Love  of  liberty  on  one  side,  proud  defiance  of 
rebellion  on  the  other,  hopes  and  fears,  and  courage  and 
daring,  on  both  sides,  animated  the  hearts  of  the  combat 
ants  as  they  hung  on  the  edge  of  battle. 

19.  I  suppose  it  would  be  difficult,  in  a  military  point  of 
1  Cultivated  fields. 


38  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

view,  to  ascribe  to  the  leaders  on  either  side  any  just  motive 
for  the  engagement  which  followed.  On  the  one  hand,  it 
could  not  have  been  very  important  to  the  Americans  to 
attempt  to  hem  the  British  within  the  town,  by  advancing 
one  single  post  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  British  found  it  essential  to  dislodge  the 
American  troops,  they  had  it  in  their  power  at  no  expense 
of  life.  By  moving  up  their  ship  and  batteries,  they  could 
have  completely  cut  otf  all  communication  with  the  main 
land  over  the  Neck,  and  the  forces  in  the  redoubt  would 
have  been  reduced  to  a  state  of  famine  in  forty-eight 
hours. 

20.  But  that  was  not  the  day  for  any  such  consideration 
on    either   side  !     Both  parties  were   anxious    to    try  the 
strength  of  their  arms.     The  pride  of  England  would  not 
permit  the  rebels,  as  she  termed  them,  to  defy  her  to  the 
teeth  ;   and,  without  for  a  moment  calculating  the  cost, 
the   British  general   determined  to  destroy  the  fort  im 
mediately.     On  the  other  side,  Prescott  and  his  gallant  fol 
lowers  longed  and  thirsted  for  a  decisive  trial  of  strength 
and  of  courage.     They  wished  a  battle,  and  wished  it  at 
once.     And  this  is  the  true  secret  of  the  movements  on  this 
hill. 

21.  I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  that  battle.     The  can 
nonading  ;  the  landing  of  the  British  ;  their  advance  ;  the 
coolness  with  which  the  charge  was  met ;  the  repulse  ;  the 
second  attack  ;  the  second  repulse  ;  the  burning  of  Charles- 
town  ;  and  finally  the  closing  assault,  and  the  slow  retreat 
of  the  Americans, — the  history  of  all  these  is  familiar. 

22.  But  the  consequences  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill 
were  greater  than  those  of  any  ordinary  conflict,  although 
between  armies  of  far  greater  force,  and  terminating  with 
more  immediate  advantage  on  the  one  side  or  the  other. 
It  was  the  first  great  battle  of  the  Revolution  ;  and  not 
only  the  first  blow,  but  the  blow  which  determined  the 


THE   COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT          39 

contest.  It  did  not,  indeed,  put  Jin  end  to  the  war,  but, 
in  the  then  existing  hostile  state  of  feeling,  the  difficulties 
could  only  be  referred  to  the  arbitration  of  the  sword. 
And  one  thing  is  certain;  that  after  the  New-England 
troops  had  shown  themselves  able  to  face  and  repulse  the 
regulars,  it  was  decided  that  peace  never  could  be  estab 
lished,  but  upon  the  basis  of  the  independence  of  the  Colo 
nies.  When  the  sun  of  that  day  went  down,  the  event  of 
Independence  was  no  longer  doubtful.  In  a  few  days 
Washington  heard  of  the  battle,  and  he  inquired  if  the  mi 
litia  had  stood  the  fire  of  the  regulars.  When  told  that 
they  had  not  only  stood  that  fire,  but  reserved  their  own 
till  the  enemy  was  within  eight  rods,  and  then  poured  it  in 
witli  tremendous  effect,  "Then,"  exclaimed  he,  "  the  lib 
erties  of  the  country  are  safe  !  " 

'2'.}.  The  consequences  of  this  battle  were  just  of  the  same 
importance  as  the  Revolution  itself. 

24.  If  there  was  nothing  of  value  in  the  principles  of  the 
American  Revolution,  then  there  is  nothing  valuable  in  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill  and  its  consequences.  But  if  the 
Revolution  was  an  era  in  the  history  of  man  favorable  to 
human  happiness,  if  it  was  an  event  which  marked  the 
progress  of  man  all  over  the  world  from  despotism  to  lib 
erty,  then  this  monument  is  not  raised  without  cause. 
Then  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  is  not  an  event  undeserv 
ing  celebrations,  commemorations,  and  rejoicings,  now  and 
in  all  coming  times. 

V.  25.  What,  then,  is  the  true  and  peculiar  principle  of 
the  American  Revolution,  and  of  the  systems  of  govern 
ment  which  it  has  confirmed  and  established  ?  The  truth 
is,  that  the  American  Revolution  was  not  caused  by  the  in 
stantaneous  discovery  of  principles  of  government  before 
unheard  of,  or  the  practical  adoption  of  political  ideas  such 
as  had  never  before  entered  into  the  minds  of  men.  It  was 


40  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

but  the  full  development  of  principles  of  government, 
forms  of  society,  and  political  sentiments,  the  origin  oi'  all 
which  lay  back  two  centuries  in  English  and  American  his 
tory. 

'26.  The  discovery  of  America,  its  colonization  by  the 
nations  of  Europe,  the  history  and  progress  of  the  colonies, 
from  their  establishment  to  the  time  when  the  principal 
of  them  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  the  respective  states 
by  which  they  had  been  planted,  and  founded  governments 
of  their  own,  constitute  one  of  the  most  interesting  por 
tions  of  the  annals  of  man.  These  events  occupied  three 
hundred  years  ;  during  which  period  civilization  and  knowl 
edge  made  steady  progress  in  the  Old  World ;  so  that 
Europe,  at  the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
had  become  greatly  changed  from  that  Europe  which  began 
the  colonization  of  America  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth, 
or  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth.  And  what  is  most 
material  to  my  present  purpose  is,  that  in  the  progress  of 
the  first  of  these  centuries,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  discovery 
of  America  to  the  settlements  of  Virginia  and  Massachu 
setts,  political  and  religious  events  took  place  which  most 
materially  affected  the  state  of  society  and  the  sentiments 
of  mankind,  especially  in  England  and  in  parts  of  Conti 
nental  Europe.  After  a  few  feeble  and  unsuccessful  efforts 
by  England,  under  Henry  the  Seventh,  to  plant  colonies  in 
America,1  no  designs  of  that  kind  were  prosecuted  for  a 
long  period,  either  by  the  English  Government  or  any  of  its 
subjects.  Without  inquiring  into  the  causes  of  this  delay, 
its  consequences  are  sufficiently  clear  and  striking.  Eng 
land,  in  this  lapse  of  a  century,  unknown  to  herself,  hut 
under  the  providence  of  God  and  the  influence  of  events, 
was  fitting  herself  for  the  work  of  colonizing  North 
America,  on  such  principles  and  by  such  men,  as  should 
spread  the  English  name  and  English  blood,  in  time,  over 
i  Resulting  in  the  voyages  and  discoveries  of  the  CalJots. 


THE  COMPLETION  OF  THE  MONUMENT         4-1 

a  great  portion  of  the  Western  hemisphere.  The  commer 
cial  spirit  was  greatly  fostered  by  several  laws  passed  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  the  Seventh  ;  and  in  the  same  reign  en 
couragement  was  given  to  arts  and  manufactures  in  the 
eastern  counties,  and  some  not  unimportant  modifications 
of  the  feudal  system  took  place  by  allowing  the  breaking  of 
entails.1  These  and  other  measures,  and  other  occurrences, 
were  making  way  for  a  new  class  of  society  to  emerge,  and 
show  itself,  in  a  military  and  feudal  age;  a  middle  class, 
between  the  barons  or  great  landholders  and  the  retainers 
of  the  crown,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  tenants  of  the 
crown  and  barons,  and  agricultural  and  other  laborers, 
on  the  other  side.  With  the  rise  and  growth  of  this 
new  class  of  society,  not  only  did  commerce  and  the 
arts  increase,  but  better  education,  a  greater  degree  of 
knowledge,  juster  notions  of  the  true  ends  of  government, 
and  sentiments  favorable  to  civil  liberty,  began  to  spread 
abroad,  and  become  more  and  more  common.  But  the 
plants  springing  from  these  seeds  were  of  slow  growth.  The 
character  of  English  society  had  indeed  begun  to  undergo 
a  change  ;  but  changes  of  national  character  are  ordinarily 
the  work  of  time.  Operative  causes  were,  however,  evi 
dently  in  existence,  and  sure  to  produce,  ultimately,  their 
proper  effect.  From  the  accession  of  Henry  the  Seventh 
to  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  wars,  England  enjoyed 
much  greater  exemption  from  war,  foreign  and  domestic, 
than  for  a  long  period  before,  and  during  the  controversy 
between  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster.2  These  years 
of  peace  were  favorable  to  commerce  and  the  arts.  Com 
merce  and  the  arts  augmented  general  and  individual 

1  An  entailed  estate  cannot  be  sold  ;  it  descends  perpetually  to  speci 
fied  heirs. 

"This  controversy,  known  as  the  War  of  the  Roses,  begaii  in  1455 
and  closed  with  the  accession  of  Henry  the  Seventh  in  1485.  The 
civil  wars  did  not  begin  until  1642. 


42  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

knowledge ;  and  knowledge  is  the  only  fountain,  both  of 
the  love  and  the  principles  of  human  liberty. 

27.  Other  powerful  causes  soon  came  into  active  play. 
The  Reformation  of  Luther  broke  out,  kindling  up  the 
minds  of  men  afresh,  leading  to  new  habits  of  thought,, 
and  awakening  in  individuals  energies  before  unknown 
even  to  themselves.  The  religious  controversies  of  this 
period  changed  society,  as  well  as  religion  ;  indeed,  it  would 
be  easy  to  prove,  if  this  occasion  were  proper  for  it,  that 
they  changed  society  to  a  considerable  extent,  where  they 
did  not  change  the  religion  of  the  state.  They  changed 
man  himself,  in  his  modes  of  thought,  his  consciousness  of 
his  own  powers,  and  his  desire  of  intellectual  attainment. 
The  spirit  of  commercial  and  foreign  adventure,  therefore, 
on  the  one  hand,  which  had  gained  so  much  strength  and 
influence  since  the.  time  of  the  discovery  of  America,  and, 
on  the  other,  the  assertion  and  maintenance  of  religious 
liberty,  having  their  source  indeed  in  the  Reformation,  but 
continued,  diversified,  and  constantly  strengthened  by  the 
subsequent  divisions  of  sentiment  and  opinion  among  the 
Reformers  themselves,  and  this  love  of  religious  liberty 
drawing  after  it  or  bringing  along  with  it,  as  it  always 
does,  an  ardent  devotion  to  the  principle  of  civil  liberty 
also,  were  the  powerful  influences  under  which  character 
was  formed  and  men  trained,  for  the  great  work  of  intro 
ducing  English  civilization,  English  law,  and,  what  is 
more  than  all,  Anglo-Saxon  blood,  into  the  wilderness  of 
North  America.  Raleigh  and  his  companions  may  be  con 
sidered  as  the  creatures,  principally,  of  the  first  of  these 
causes.  High-spirited,  full  of  the  love  of  personal  advent 
ure,  excited,  too,  in  some  degree,  by  the  hopes  of  sudden 
riches  from  the  discovery  of  mines  of  the  precious  metals, 
and  not  unwilling  to  diversify  the  labors  of  settling  a 
colony  witli  occasional  cruising  against  the  Spaniards  in 
the  West  Indian  seas,  they  crossed  and  recrossed  the  ocean, 


THE   COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT          43 

with  a  frequency  which  surprises  us,  when  we  consider  the 
state  of  navigation,  and  which  evinces  a  most  daring  spirit. 

28.  The  other  cause  peopled  New  England.  The  May 
flower  sought  our  shores  under  no  high-wrought  spirit  of 
commercial  adventure,  no  love  of  gold,  no  mixture  of  pur 
pose  warlike  or  hostile  to  any  human  being.  Like  the  dove 
from  the  ark,  she  had  put  forth  only  to  find  rest.  Solemn 
supplications  on  the  shore  of  the  sea,  in  Holland,  had  in 
voked  for  her,  at  her  departure,  the  blessings  of  Provi 
dence.  The  stars  which  guided  her  were  the  unobscured 
constellations  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Her  deck  was 
the  altar  of  the  living  God.  Fervent  prayers  on  bended 
knees,  mingled,  morning  and  evening,  with  the  voices  of 
ocean  and  the  sighing  of  the  wind  in  her  shrouds.  Every 
prosperous  breeze,  which,  gently  swelling  her  sails,  helped 
the  Pilgrims  onward  in  their  course,  awoke  new  anthems  of 
praise  :  and  when  the  elements  were  wrought  into  fury, 
neither  the  tempest,  tossing  their  fragile  bark  like  a  feather, 
nor  the  darkness  and  howling  of  the  midnight  storm,  ever 
disturbed,  in  man  or  woman,  the  firm  and  settled  purpose 
of  their  souls,  to  undergo  all,  and  to  do  all,  that  the  meekest 
patience,  the  boldest  resolution,  and  the  highest  trust  in 
God  could  enable  human  beings  to  suffer  or  to  perform. 

20.  Some  differences  may,  doubtless,  be  traced  at  this 
day  between  the  descendants  of  the  early  colonists  of  Vir 
ginia  and  those  of  Xew  England,  owing  to  the  different 
influences  and  different  circumstances  under  which  the 
respective  settlements  were  made ;  but  only  enough  to 
create  a  pleasing  variety  in  the  midst  of  a  general  family 
resemblance. 

"  Facies  non  omnibus  una, 
Nee  diversa  tamen  ;  qualem  decet  esse  sororum."  ' 

1  "  The  features  are  not  the  same  in  all,  nor  yet  are  they  different ; 
they  are  such  as  sisters  ought  to  have." — Ovid,  Met.,  ii. ,  13. 


44  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

But  the  habits,  sentiments,  and  objects  of  both  soon  be 
came  modified  by  local  causes,  growing  out  of  their  con 
dition  in  the  New  World  :  and  as  this  condition  was 
essentially  alike  in  both,  and  as  both  at  once  adopted  the 
same  general  rnles  and  principles  of  English  jurisprudence, 
and  became  accustomed  to  the  authority  of  representative 
bodies,  these  differences  gradually  diminished.  They  dis 
appeared  by  the  progress  of  time,  and  the  influence  of  in 
tercourse.  The  necessity  of  some  degree  of  union  and 
cooperation  to  defend  themselves  against  the  savage  tribes, 
tended  to  excite  in  them  mutual  respect  and  regard.  They 
fought  together  in  the  wars  against  France.  The  great 
and  common  cause  of  the  Revolution  bound  them  to  one 
another  by  new  links  of  brotherhood  ;  and  at  length  the 
present  constitution  of  government  united  them  happily 
and  gloriously,  to  form  the  great  republic  of  the  world, 
and  bound  up  their  interests  and  fortunes,  till  the  whole 
earth  sees  that  there  is  now  for  them,  in  present  possession 
as  well  as  in  future  hope,  but  "One  Country,  One  Consti 
tution,  and  One  Destiny." 

30.  The  colonization  of  the  tropical  region,  and  the 
whole  of  the  southern  parts  of  the  continent,  by  Spain  and 
Portugal,  was  conducted  on  other  principles,  under  the  in 
fluence  of  other  motives,  and  followed  by  far  different 
consequences.  From  the  time  of  its  discovery,  the  Spanish 
Government  pushed  forward  its  settlements  in  America, 
not  only  with  vigor,  but  with  eagerness  ;  so  that  long  be 
fore  the  first  permanent  English  settlement  had  been 
accomplished  in  what  is  now  the  United  States,  Spain  had 
conquered  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Chili,  and  stretched  her 
power  over  nearly  all  the  territory  she  ever  acquired  on  this 
continent.  The  rapidity  of  these  conquests  is  to  be  ascribed 
in  a  great  degree  to  the  eagerness,  not  to  say  the  rapacity, 
of  those  numerous  bands  of  adventurers  who  were  stimu 
lated  by  individual  interests  and  private  hopes  to  subdue 


TltK   COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT          45 

immense  regions,  and  take  possession  of  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Crown  of  Spain.  The  mines  of  gold  and  silver  were 
the  incitements  to  these  efforts,  and  accordingly  settle 
ments  were  generally  made,  and  Spanish  authority  estab 
lished  immediately  on  the  subjugation  of  territory,  that 
the  native  population  might  be  set  to  work  by  their  new 
Spanish  masters  in  the  mines.  From  these  facts,  the  love 
of  gold — gold  not  produced  by  industry,  nor  accumulated 
by  commerce,  but  gold  dug  from  its  native  bed  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  and  that  earth  ravished  from  its  right 
ful  possessors  by  every  possible  degree  of  enormity,  cruelty, 
and  crime — was  long  the  governing  passion  in  Spanish  wars 
and  Spanish  settlements  in  America.  Even  Columbus 
himself  did  not  wholly  escape  the  influence  of  this  base 
motive.  In  his  early  voyages  we  find  him  passing  from 
island  to  island,  inquiring  everywhere  for  gold  ;  as  if  God 
had  opened  the  Xew  World  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Old, 
only  to  gratify  a  passion  equally  senseless  and  sordid,  and 
to  offer  up  millions  of  an  unoffending  race  of  men  to  the 
destruction  of  the  sword,  sharpened  both  by  cruelty  and 
rapacity.  And  yet  Columbus  was  far  above  his  age  and 
country.  Enthusiastic,  indeed,  but  sober,  religious,  and 
magnanimous  ;  born  to  great  things,  and  capable  of  high 
sentiments,  as  his  noble  discourse  before  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  as  well  as  the  whole  history  of  his  life,  shows. 
Probably  he  sacrificed  much  to  the  known  sentiments  of 
others,  and  addressed  to  his  followers  motives  likely  to  in 
fluence  them.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  evident  that  he  him 
self  looked  upon  the  world  which  he  discovered  as  a  world 
of  wealth,  all  ready  to  be  seized  and  enjoyed. 

31.  The  conquerors  and  the  European  settlers  of  Span 
ish  America  were  mainly  military  commanders  and  com 
mon  soldiers.  The  monarchy  of  Spain  was  not  transferred 
to  this  hemisphere,  but  it  acted  in  it.  as  it  acted  at  home, 
through  its  ordinary  means,  and  its  true  representative, 


46  DANIEL    WEBSTEff 

military  force.  The  robbery  and  destruction  of  the  native 
race  was  the  achievement  of  standing  armies,  in  the  right  of 
the  King,  and  by  his  authority,  fighting  in  his  name,  for  the 
aggrandizement  of  his  power  and  the  extension  of  his  prerog 
atives,  with  military  ideas  under  arbitrary  maxims, — a  por 
tion  of  that  dreadful  instrumentality  by  which  a  perfect  des 
potism  governs  a  people.  As  there  was  no  liberty  in  Spain, 
how  could  liberty  be  transmitted  to  Spanish  colonies  ? 

32.  The  colonists  of  English  America  were  of  the  people, 
and  a  people  already  free.     They  were  of  the  middle,  in 
dustrious,  and  already  prosperous  class,  the  inhabitants  of 
commercial  and  manufacturing  cities,  among  whom  liberty 
first  revived  and  respired,  after  a  sleep  of  a  thousand  years 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Dark  Ages.     Spain  descended  on  the 
New  World  in  the  armed  and  terrible  image  of  her  mon 
archy  and    her  soldiery  ;   England  approached  it  in   the 
winning  and  popular  garb  of  personal  rights,  public  pro 
tection,  and  civil  freedom.     England  transplanted  liberty 
to  America  ;  Spain  transplanted  power.     England,  through 
the  agency  of  private  companies  and  the  efforts  of  individ 
uals,  colonized  this  part  of  North  America  by  industrious 
individuals,  making  their  own  way  in  the  wilderness,  de 
fending  themselves  against  the  savages,  recognizing  their 
right  to  the  soil,  and  with  a  general  honest  purpose  of  in 
troducing  knowledge  as  well  as  Christianity  among  them. 
Spain  swooped  on  South  America  like  a  vulture   on  its 
prey.     Everything  was  force.     Territories  were  acquired  by 
fire  and  sword.     Cities  were  destroyed  by  fire  and  sword. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  human  beings  fell  by  fire  and 
sword.     Even  conversion  to  Christianity  was  attempted  by 
fire  and  sword. 

33.  Behold,  then,  fellow-citizens,  the  difference  result 
ing  from  the  operation  of  the  two  principles  !     Here,  to 
day,  on  the  summit  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  at  the  foot  of  this 
monument,  behold  the  difference  !     1  would  that  the  fifty 


THE  COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT         47 

thousand  voices  present  could  proclaim  it  with  a  shout 
which  should  be  heard  over  the  globe.  Our  inheritance 
was  of  liberty,  secured  and  regulated  by  law  and  enlight 
ened  by  religion  and  knowledge  ;  that  of  South  America 
was  of  power,  stern,  unrelenting,  tyrannical,  military  power. 
And  now  look  to  the  consequences  of  the  two  principles  on 
the  general  and  aggregate  happiness  of  the  human  race. 
Behold  the  results,  in  all  the  regions  conquered  by  Cortes 
and  Pizarro,  and  the  contrasted  results  here.  I  suppose 
the  territory  of  the  United  States  may  amount  to  one 
eighth,  or  one  tenth,  of  that  colonized  by  Spain  on  this 
continent ;  and  yet  in  all  that  vast  region  there  are  but  be 
tween  one  and  two  millions  of  people  of  European  color 
and  European  blood,  while  in  the  United  States  there  are 
fourteen  millions  who  rejoice  in  their  descent  from  the 
people  of  the  more  northern  part  of  Europe. 

34.  But  we  may  follow  the  difference  in  the  original 
principle  of  colonization,  and  in  its  character  and  objects, 
still  further.     We  must  look  to  moral  and  intellectual  re 
sults  ;  we  must  consider  consequences,  not  only  as  they 
show  themselves  in  hastening  or  retarding  the  increase  of 
population  and  the  supply  of  physical  wants,  but  in  their 
civilization,  improvement,  and   happiness.     We  must  in 
quire  what  progress  has  been  made  in  the  true  science  of 
liberty,  in  the  knowledge  of  the  great  principles  of  self- 
government,  and  in  the  progress  of  man,  as  a  social,  moral, 
and  religious  being. 

35.  I  would  not  willingly  say  anything  on  this  occasion 
discourteous  to  the  new  governments  founded  on  the  demo 
lition  of  the  power  of  the  Spanish  monarchy.     They  are 
yet  on  their  trial,  and  I  hope  for  a  favorable  result.     But 
truth,  sacred  truth,  and  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  civil  lib 
erty,  compel  me  to  say,  that  hitherto  they  have  discovered 
quite  too  much  of  the  spirit  of  that  monarchy  from  which 
they  separated  themselves.     Quite  too  frequent  resort  ia 


48  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

made  to  military  force  ;  and  quite  too  much  of  the  sub 
stance  of  the  people  is  consumed  in  maintaining  armies, 
not  for  defense  against  foreign  aggression,  but  for  enforc 
ing  obedience  to  domestic  authority.  Standing  armies  are 
the  oppressive  instruments  for  governing  the  people  in  the 
hands  of  hereditary  and  arbitrary  monarchs.  A  military 
republic,  a  government  founded  on  mock  elections  and 
supported  only  by  the  sword,  is  a  movement  indeed,  but 
a  retrograde  and  disastrous  movement,  from  the  regular 
and  old-fashioned  monarchical  systems.  If  men  would  en 
joy  the  blessings  of  republican  government,  they  must  gov 
ern  themselves  by  reason,  by  mutual  counsel  and  consulta 
tion,  by  a  sense  and  feeling  of  general  interest,  and  by  the 
acquiescence  of  the  minority  in  the  will  of  the  majority, 
properly  expressed  ;  and,  above  all,  the  military  must  be 
kept,  according  to  the  language  of  our  Bill  of  Eights,1  in 
strict  subordination  to  the  civil  authority.  Wherever  this 
lesson  is  not  both  learned  and  practised,  there  can  be  no 
political  freedom.  Absurd,  preposterous  is  it,  a  scoff  and 
a  satire  on  free  forms  of  constitutional  liberty,  for  frames 
of  government  to  be  prescribed  by  military  leaders,  and  the 
right  of  suffrage  to  be  exercised  at  the  point  of  the  sword. 
36.  Making  all  allowance  for  situation  and  climate,  it 
cannot  be  doubted  by  intelligent  minds,  that  the  difference 
now  existing  between  North  and  South  America  is  justly 
attributable,  in  a  great  degree,  to  political  institutions  in 
the  Old  World  and  in  the  New.  And  how  broad  that  dif 
ference  is  !  Suppose  an  assembly,  in  one  of  the  valleys  or 
on  the  side  of  one  of  the  mountains  of  the  southern  half 
of  the  hemisphere,  to  be  held,  this  day,  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  a  large  city  ; — what  would  be  the  scene  presented  ? 
Yonder  is  a  volcano,  flaming  and  smoking,  but  shedding 

1 ''  The  military  power  shall  always  be  held  in  an  exact  subordination 
to  the  civil  authority  and  be  governed  by  it." — Constitution  of  Mas 
iachusttts  (1780),  Declaration  of  Eights,  Article  XVII. 


THE  COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT         49 

no  light,  moral  or  intellectual.  At  its  foot  is  the  mine, 
sometimes  yielding,  perhaps,  large  gains  to  capital,  but  in 
which  labor  is  destined  to  eternal  and  unrequited  toil,  and 
followed  only  by  penury  and  beggary.  The  city  is  filled 
with  armed  men  ;  not  a  free  people,  armed  and  coming 
forth  voluntarily  to  rejoice  in  a  public  festivity,  but  hire 
ling  troops,  supported  by  forced  loans,  excessive  imposi 
tions  on  commerce,  or  taxes  wrung  from  a  half-fed  and  a 
half-clothed  population.  For  the  great  there  are  palaces 
covered  with  gold  :  for  the  poor  there  are  hovels  of  the 
meanest  sort.  There  is  an  ecclesiastical  hierarchy,  en 
joying  the  wealth  of  princes  ;  but  there  are  no  means  of 
education  for  the  people.  Do  public  improvements  favor 
intercourse  between  place  and  place  ?  So  far  from  this, 
the  traveller  cannot  pass  from  town  to  town  without 
danger,  every  mile,  of  robbery  and  assassination.  I  would 
not  overcharge  or  exaggerate  this  picture  ;  but  its  prin 
cipal  features  are  all  too  truly  sketched. 

37.  And  how  does  it  contrast  with  the  scene  now  actually 
before  us  ?  Look  round  upon  these  fields  ;  they  are  ver 
dant  and  beautiful,  well  cultivated,  and  at  this  moment 
loaded  with  the  riches  of  the  early  harvest.  The  hands 
which  till  them  are  those  of  the  free  owners  of  the  soil, 
enjoying  equal  rights,  and  protected  by  law  from  oppres 
sion  and  tyranny.  Look  to  the  thousand  vessels  in  our 
sight,  filling  the  harbor,  or  covering  the  neighboring  sea. 
They  are  the  vehicles  of  a  profitable  commerce,  carried  on 
by  men  who  know  that  the  profits  of  their  hardy  enter 
prise,  when  they  make  them,  are  their  own  ;  and  this  com 
merce  is  encouraged  and  regulated  by  wise  laws,  and 
defended,  when  need  he.  by  the  valor  and  patriotism 
of  the  country.  Look  to  that  fair  city,  the  abode  of  so 
much  diffused  wealth,  so  much  general  happiness  and 
comfort,  so  much  personal  independence,  and  so  much 
general  knowledge,  and  not  undistinguished,  I  maybe  per- 
4 


50  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

mitted  to  add,  for  hospitality  and  social  refinement.  She 
fears  no  forced  contributions,  no  siege  or  sacking  from 
military  leaders  of  rival  factions.  The  hundred  temples 
in  which  her  citizens  worship  God  are  in  no  danger  of 
sacrilege.  The  regular  administration  of  the  laws  en 
counters  no  obstacle.  The  long  processions  of  children 
and  youth,  which  you  see  this  day,  issuing  by  thousands 
from  her  free  schools,  prove  the  care  and  anxiety  with 
which  a  popular  government  provides  for  the  education 
and  morals  of  the  people.  Everywhere  there  is  order  ; 
everywhere  there  is  security.  Everywhere  the  law  reaches 
to  the  highest  and  reaches  to  the  lowest,  to  protect  all  in 
their  rights,  and  to  restrain  all  from  wrong  ;  and  over  all 
hovers  liberty  ;  that  liberty  for  which  our  fathers  fought 
and  fell  on  this  very  spot,  with  her  eye  ever  watchful 
and  her  eagle  wing  ever  wide  outspread. 

38.  The  colonies  of  Spain,  from  their  origin  to  their 
end,  were  subject  to  the  sovereign  authority  of  the  mother 
country.  Their  government,  as  well  as  their  commerce, 
was  a  strict  home  monopoly.  If  we  add  to  this  the 
established  usage  of  filling  important  posts  in  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  colonies  exclusively  by  natives  of  Old  Spain, 
thus  cutting  off  forever  all  hopes  of  honorable  preferment 
from  every  man  born  in  the  Western  hemisphere,  causes 
enough  rise  up  before  us  at  once  to  account  fully  for  the 
subsequent  history  and  character  of  these  provinces.  The 
viceroys  and  provincial  governors  of  Spain  were  never  at 
home  in  their  governments  in  America.  They  did  not  feel 
that  they  were  of  the  people  whom  they  governed.  Their 
official  character  and  employment  have  a  good  deal  of  re 
semblance  to  those  of  the  proconsuls  of  Home,  in  Asia, 
Sicily,  and  Gaul  ;  but  obviously  no  resemblance  to  tho.':e 
of  Carver  and  Winthrop,1  and  very  little  to  those  of  the 

1  John  Carver,  first  governor  of  Plymouth  Colony  ;  John  Win- 
throp,  governor  of  Massachusetts  Colony. 


THE   COMPLETION   OF   THE  MONUMENT          51 

governors  of  Virginia  after  that  Colony  had  established  a 
popular  House  of  Burgesses. 

39.  The  English  colonists  in  America,  generally  speak 
ing,  were  men  who  were  seeking  new  homes  in  anew  world. 
They  brought  with  them  their  families  and  all  that  was 
most  dear  to  them.  This  was  especially  the  case  with  the 
colonists  of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts.  Many  of  them 
were  educated  men,  and  all  possessed  their  full  share,  ac 
cording  to  their  social  condition,  of  the  knowledge  and  at 
tainments  of  that  age.  The  distinctive  characteristic  of 
their  settlement  is  the  introduction  of  the  civilization  of 
Europe  into  a  wilderness,  without  bringing  with  it  the 
political  institutions  of  Europe.  The  arts,,  sciences,  and 
literature  of  England  came  over  with  the  settlers.  That 
great  portion  of  the  common  law  which  regulates  the  social 
and  personal  relations  and  conduct  of  men  came  also.  The 
jury  came  ;  the  habeas  corpus  came  ;  the  testamentary 
power  came  ;  and  the  law  of  inheritance  and  descent  came 
also,  except  that  part  of  it  which  recognizes  the  rights  of 
primogeniture.1  which  either  did  not  come  at  all,  or  soon 
gave  way  to  the  rule  of  equal  partition  of  estates  among 
children.  But  the  monarchy  did  not  come,  nor  the  aristoc 
racy,  nor  the  church,  as  an  estate  of  the  realm.  Political 
institutions  were  to  be  framed  anew,  such  as  should  be 
adapted  to  the  state  of  things.  But  it  could  not  be  doubt 
ful  what  should  be  the  nature  and  character  of  these  insti 
tutions.  A  general  social  equality  prevailed  among  the 
settlers,  and  an  equality  of  political  rights  seemed  the  nat 
ural,  if  not  the  necessary  consequence.  After  forty  years 
of  revolution,  violence,  and  war,  the  people  of  Erance  have 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  fundamental  instrument  of  their 
government,  as  the  great  boon  obtained  by  all  their  suffer 
ings  and  sacrifices,  the  declaration  that  all  Frenchmen  are 

1  The  right  of  the  eldest  son  to  inherit  the  undivided  estate  of  his 
father. 


52  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

equal  before  the  law.1  What  France  has  reached  only  by 
the  expenditure  of  so  much  blood  and  treasure,  and  the 
perpetration  of  so  much  crime,  the  English  colonists  ob 
tained  by  simply  changing  their  place,  carrying  with  them 
the  intellectual  and  moral  culture  of  Europe,  and  the  per 
sonal  and  social  relations  to  which  they  were  accustomed, 
but  leaving  behind  their  political  institutions.  It  has  been 
said  with  much  vivacity,  that  the  felicity  of  the  American 
colonists  consisted  in  their  escape  from  the  past.  This  is 
true  so  far  as  respects  political  establishments,  but  no  fur 
ther.  They  brought  with  them  a  full  portion  of  all  the 
riches  of  the  past,  in  science,  in  art.  in  morals,  religion, 
and  literature.  The  Bible  came  with  them.  And  it  is 
not  to  be  doubted,  that  to  the  free  and  universal  reading 
of  the  Bible,  in  that  age,  men  were  much  indebted  for 
right  views  of  civil  liberty.  The  Bible  is  a  book  of  faith, 
and  a  book  of  doctrine,  and  a  book  of  morals,  and  a  book 
of  religion,  of  especial  revelation  from  God  :  but  it  is  also 
a  book  which  teaches  man  his  own  individual  responsibility, 
his  own  dignity,  and  his  equality  with  his  fellow-man. 

40.  Bacon  and  Locke,  and  Shakespeare  and  Milton,  also 
came  with  the  colonists.  It  was  the  object  of  the  first  set 
tlers  to  form  new  political  systems,  but  all  that  belonged 
to  cultivated  man,  to  family,  to  neighborhood,  to  social  re 
lations,  accompanied  them.  In  the  Doric  phrase  of  one 
of  our  own  historians,  "  they  came  to  settle  on  bare  crea 
tion  ; "  but  their  settlement  in  the  wilderness,  nevertheless, 
was  not  a  lodgment  of  nomadic  tribes,  a  mere  resting-place 
of  roaming  savages.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a  permanent 
community,  the  fixed  residence  of  cultivated  men.  Not 
only  was  English  literature  read,  but  English,  good  Eng 
lish,  was  spoken  and  written,  before  the  ax  had  made  way 

1  "  All  Frenchmen,  of  whatever  rank  and  title,  are  equal  before 
the  law.1' — Constitutional  Charter,  adopted  on  the  accession  of  Louis 
Philippe  in  1830, 


THE   COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT         53 

to  let  in  the  sun  upon  the  habitations  and  fields  of  Ply 
mouth  and  Massachusetts.  And  whatever  may  be  said  to 
the  contrary,  a  correct  use  of  the  English  language  is,  at 
tli is  day,  more  general  throughout  the  United  States  than 
it  is  throughout  England  herself. 

41.  Hut  another  grand  characteristic  is,  that,  in  the 
Knglish  Colonies,  political  affairs  were  left  to  be  managed 
by  the  colonists  themselves.  This  is  another  fact  wholly 
distinguishing  them  in  character,  as  it  has  distinguished 
them  in  fortune,  from  the  colonists  of  Spain.  Here  lies 
the  foundation  of  that  experience  in  self-government  which 
has  preserved  order,  and  security,  and  regularity  amidst 
the  play  of  popular  institutions.  Home  government  was 
the  secret  of  the  prosperity  of  the  Xorth  American  settle 
ments.  The  more  distinguished  of  the  Xew  England  colo 
nists,  with  a  most  remarkable  sagacity  and  a  long-sighted 
reach  into  futurity,  refused  to  come  to  America  unless  they 
could  bring  with  them  charters  providing  for  the  adminis 
tration  of  their  affairs  in  this  country.  They  saw  from  the 
first  the  evils  of  being  governed  in  the  Xew  World  by  a 
power  fixed  in  the  Old.  Acknowledging  the  general  su 
periority  of  the  crown,  they  still  insisted  on  the  right  of 
passing  local  laws,  and  of  local  administration.  And  his 
tory  teaches  us  the  justice  and  the  value  of  this  determina 
tion  in  the  example  of  Virginia.  The  early  attempts  to  set 
tle  that  Colony  failed,  sometimes  with  the  most  melancholy 
and  fatal  consequences,  from  want  of  knowledge,  care,  and 
attention  on  the  part  of  those  who  had  the  charge  of  their 
affairs  in  England  ;  and  it  was  only  after  the  issuing  of  the 
third  charter,  that  its  prosperity  fairly  commenced.  The 
cause  was,  that  by  that  third  charter  the  people  of  Vir 
ginia,  for  by  this  time  they  deserved  to  be  so  called,  were 
allowed  to  constitute  and  establish  the  first  popular  repre 
sentative  assembly  which  ever  convened  on  this  continent, 
the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses. 


54  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

42.  The  great  elements,  then,  of  the  American  system 
of  government,  originally  introduced  by  the  colonists,  and 
Avhich  were  early  in  operation,  and  ready  to  be  developed, 
more  and  more,  as  the  progress  of  events  should  justify  or 
demand,  were, — 

Escape  from  the  existing  political  systems  of  Europe, 
including  its  religious  hierarchies,  but  the  continued  pos 
session  and  enjoyment  of  its  science  and  arts,  its  literature, 
and  its  manners  ; 

Home  government,  or  the  power  of  making  in  the  Colony 
the  municipal  laws  which  were  to  govern  it  ; 

Equality  of  rights  ; 

Representative  assemblies,  or  forms  oi  government  found 
ed  on  popular  elections. 

VI.  43.  Few  topics  are  more  inviting,  or  more  fit  for 
philosophical  discussion,  than  the  effect  on  the  happiness 
of  mankind  of  institutions  founded  upon  these  principles  ; 
or,  in  other  words,  the  influence  of  the  Xew  World  upon 
the  Old. 

44.  Her  obligations  to  Europe  for  science  and  art,  laws, 
literature,   and   manners,    America    acknowledges   as   she 
ought,   with  respect  and  gratitude.     The    people  of    the 
United  States,  descendants  of  the  English  stock,  grateful 
for  the  treasures  of  knowledge  derived  from  their  English 
ancestors,  admit  also,   with  thanks  and  filial  regard,  that 
among  those  ancestors,  under  the  culture  of  Hampden  and 
.Sidney J  and  other  assiduous  friends,  that  seed  of  popular 
liberty  first  germinated,  which  on  our  soil  has  shot  up  to 
its  full  height,  until  its  branches  overshadow  all  the  land. 

45.  But  America  has  not  failed  to  make  returns.     If  she 
has  not  wholly  cancelled  the  obligation,  or  equalled  it  by 
others  of  like  weight,  she  has,  at  least,  made  respectable 
advances  towards  repaying  the  debt.     And  she  admits  that, 

1  Algernon  Sidney. 


THE   COMPLETION  OF   THE  MONUMENT          55 

standing  in  the  midst  of  civilized  nations  and  in  a  civilized 
age,  a  nation  among  nations,  there  is  a  high  part  which 
she  is  expected  to  act,  for  the  general  advancement  of 
human  interests  and  human  welfare. 

4<i.  American  mines  have  filled  the  mints  of  Europe 
with  the  precious  metals.  The  productions  of  the  Ameri 
can  soil  and  climate  have  poured  out  their  abundance  of 
luxuries  for  the  tables  of  the  rich,  and  of  necessaries  for 
the  sustenance  of  the  poor.  Birds  and  animals  of  beauty 
and  value  have  been  added  to  the  European  stocks  ;  and 
transplantations  from  the  unequalled  riches  of  our  forests 
have  mingled  themselves  profusely  with  the  elms,  and  ashes, 
and  druidical  oaks  of  England. 

47.  America  has  made  contributions  to  Europe  far  more 
important.     Who  can  estimate  the  amount,  or  the  value, 
of  the  augmentation  of  the  commerce  of  the  world  that  has 
resulted    from    America  ?     Who   can  imagine  to   himself 
what  would  now  be  the  shock  to  the  Eastern  Continent,  if 
the  Atlantic  were  no  longer  traversable,  or  if  there  were  no 
longer  American  productions,  or  American  markets  ? 

48.  But  America  exercises  influences,  or  holds  out  ex 
amples,  for  the  consideration  of  the  Old  World,  of  a  much 
higher,  because  they  are  of  a  moral  and  political  character. 

49.  America  has  furnished  to  Europe  proof  of  the  fact 
that  popular  institutions,    founded   on   equality  and    the 
principle    of    representation,  are   capable    of   maintaining 
governments  able  to  secure  the  rights  of  person,  property, 
and  reputation. 

50.  America  has  proved  that  it  is  practicable  to  elevate 
the   mass  of  mankind, — that   portion  which  in   Europe  is 
called  the  laboring,  or  lower  class, — to  raise  them  to  self- 
respect,  to  make  them  competent  to  act  a  part  in  the  great 
right    and    great  duty  of   self-government  ;  and    she    has 
proved  that   this  may  be  done  by  education  and  the  diffu 
sion  of  knowledge.     She  holds  out  an  example,  a  thousand 


56  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

times  more  encouraging  than  ever  was  presented  before,  to 
those  nine  tenths  of  the  human  race  who  are  born  without 
hereditary  fortune  or  hereditary  rank. 

51.  America  has  furnished  to  the  world  the  character  of 
Washington.     And,  if  our  American  institutions  had  done 
nothing  else,  that  alone  would  have  entitled  them  to  the 
respect  of  mankind. 

52.  Washington  !     "  First  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first 
in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  \" l     Washington  is  all  our 
own  !     The  enthusiastic  veneration  and  regard  in   which 
the  people  of  the  United  States  hold  him  prove  them  to  be 
worthy  of  such  a  countryman  ;  while  his  reputation  abroad 
reflects  the  highest  honor  on  his  country.     I  would  cheer 
fully  put  the  question  to-day  to  the  intelligence  of  Europe 
and  the  world,  What  character  of  the  century,  upon  the 
whole,  stands  out  in  the  relief  of  history,  most  pure,  most 
respectable,  most  sublime  ?  and   I  doubt  not,  that,    by  a 
suffrage  approaching  to  unanimity,  the  answer  would  be 
Washington  ! 

53.  The  structure  now  standing  before  us,  by  its  up 
rightness,  its  solidity,  its  durability,  is  no  unfit  emblem  of 
his  character.     His  public  virtues  and   public   principles 
were  as  firm  as  the  earth  on  which  it  stands  ;  his  personal 
motives,  as  pure  as  the  serene  heaven  in  which  its  summit 
is  lost.     But,   indeed,  though  a  fit,  it  is   an    inadequate 
emblem.     Towering  high   above   the   column    which  our 
hands  have  builded,  beheld,  not  by  the  inhabitants  of  a 
single  city  or  a  single  State,  but  by  all  the  families  of  man, 
ascends  the  colossal  grandeur  of  the  character  and  life  of 
Washington.     In  all  the  constituents  of  the  one,  in  all  the 
acts  of  the  other,  in  all  its  titles  to  immortal  love,  admira 
tion,  and  renown,  it  is  an  American  production.     It  is  the 

1  From  the  resolutions  on  the  death  of  Washington  drawn  up  by 
Henry  Lee,  and  passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives  in  December, 
1799. 


THE  COMPLETION  OF  THE  MONUMENT          57 

embodiment  and  vindication  of  our  Transatlantic  liberty. 
Born  upon  our  soil,  of  parents  also  born  upon  it;  never  for 
a  moment  having  had  sight  of  the  Old  World;  instructed, 
according  to  the  modes  of  his  time,  only  in  the  spare, 
plain,  but  wholesome  elementary  knowledge  which  our 
institutions  provide  for  the  children  of  the  people;  grow 
ing  up  beneath  and  penetrated  by  the  genuine  influences 
of  American  society  ;  living  from  infancy  to  manhood  and 
age  amidst  our  expanding,  but  not  luxurious  civilization  ; 
partaking  in  our  great  destiny  of  labor,  our  long  contest 
with  unreclaimed  nature  and  uncivilized  man,  our  agony 
of  glory,  the  war  of  Independence,  our  great  victory  of 
peace,  the  formation  of  the  Union,  and  the  establish 
ment  of  the  Constitution  ;  he  is  all,  all  our  own  !  Wash 
ington  is  ours.  That  crowded  and  glorious  life, 

"Where  multitudes  of  virtues  passed  along, 
Each  pressing  foremost,  in  the  mighty  throng 
Ambitious  to  be  seen,  then  making  room 
For  greater  multitudes  that  were  to  come," — 

that  life  was  the  life  of  an  American  citizen. 

54.  I  claim  him  for  America.  In  all  the  perils,  in  every 
darkened  moment  of  the  state,  in  the  midst  of  the  re 
proaches  of  enemies  and  the  misgiving  of  friends,  I  turn  to 
that  transcendent  name  for  courage  and  for  consolation. 
To  him  who  denies  or  doubts  whether  our  fervid  liberty  can 
be  combined  with  law,  with  order,  with  the  security  of 
property,  with  the  pursuits  and  advancement  of  happiness  ; 
to  him  who  denies  that  our  forms  of  government  are 
capable  of  producing  exaltation  of  soul  and  the  passion  of 
true  glory  ;  to  him  who  denies  that  we  have  contributed 
anything  to  the  stock  of  great  lessons  and  great  examples  ; 
— to  all  these  I  reply  by  pointing  to  Washington  ! 

VII.  55.  And  now,  friends  and  fellow-citizens,  it  is  time 
to  bring  this  discourse  to  a  close. 


58  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

5G.  We  have  indulged  in  gratifying  recollections  of  the 
past,  in  the  prosperity  and  pleasures  of  the  present,  and  in 
high  hopes  for  the  future.  But  let  us  remember  that  we 
have  duties  and  obligations  to  perform,  corresponding  to 
the  blessings  which  we  enjoy.  Let  us  remember  the  trust, 
the  sacred  trust,  attaching  to  the  rich  inheritance  which 
we  have  received  from  our  fathers.  Let  us  feel  our  per 
sonal  responsibility,  to  the  full  extent  of  our  power  and  in 
fluence,  for  the  preservation  of  the  principles  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty.  And  let  us  remember  that  it  is  only 
religion,  and  morals,  and  knowledge,  that  can  make  men 
respectable  and  happy,  under  any  form  of  government. 
Let  us  hold  fast  the  great  truth,  that  communities  are 
responsible,  as  well  as  individuals  ;  that  no  government  is 
respectable  which  is  not  just ;  that  without  unspotted 
purity  of  publie  faith,  without  sacred  public  principle, 
fidelity,  and  honor,  no  mere  forms  of  government,  no 
machinery  of  laws,  can  give  dignity  to  political  society. 
In  our  day  and  generation  let  us  seek  to  raise  and  improve 
the  moral  sentiment,  so  that  we  may  lo©k,  not  for  a  de 
graded,  but  for  an  elevated  and  improved  future.  And 
when  both  we  and  our  children  shall  have  been  consigned  to 
the  house  appointed  for  all  living,  may  love  of  country  and 
pride  of  country  glow  with  equal  fervor  among  those  to 
whom  our  names  and  our  blood  shall  have  descended  ! 
And  then,  when  honored  and  decrepit  age  shall  lean 
against  the  base  of  this  monument,  and  troops  of  in 
genuous  youth  shall  be  gathered  round  it,  and  when  the 
one  shall  speak  to  the  other  of  its  objects,  the  purposes  of 
its  construction,  and  the  great  and  glorious  events  with 
which  it  is  connected,  there  shall  rise  from  every  youthful 
breast  the  ejaculation,  "  Thank  God,  I — I  also — AM  AX 
AMERICAN  I" 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON 

A    DISCOURSE    IN   COMMEMORATION    OF   THE    LIVES   AND  SERVICES   OP 

JOHN  ADAMS  AND  THOMAS   JEFFERSON,    DELIVERED 

IN   FANEUIL    HALL,    BOSTON,    ON   THE   3D 

OF   AUGUST,    1826 

[TnE  coincidence  of  the  death  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  John  Adams 
on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1820,  produced  in  the  United  States  an  impres 
sion  that  can  be  likened  only  to  that  which  would  be  caused  by  some 
extraordinary  natural  phenomenon,  such  as  an  unexpected  eclipse  of 
the  sun  or  the  sudden  disappearance  of  a  planet.  The  death  of  either 
patriot  on  the  Fourth,  or  the  death  of  both  on  a  less  notable  anniver 
sary  would  have  been  deemed  remarkable  in  an  extreme  degree.  But 
that  both  should  expire  on  the  same  day,  and  this  day  the  anniver 
sary — nay,  more,  the  fiftieth  anniversary — of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence, — was  a  marvel  beyond  all  precedent.  Throughout  the 
country,  the  emotions  of  the  people,  roused  to  an  extraordinary  pitch, 
found  vent  in  commemorative  services.  In  Boston  these  were  of  un 
usual  solemnity.  Faneuil  Hall,  for  the  first  time  in  its  history,  was 
draped  in  mourning.  The  most  distinguished  men  of  New  England 
were  invited  to  be  present,  and  Mr.  Webster  was  requested  to  deliver 
tlu-  memorial  address.  The  appearance  and  manner  of  the  speaker 
are  thus  described  by  an  eye-witness: 

"Mr.  Webster  spoke  in  an  orator's  gown,  and  wore  small-clothes. 
He  was  in  the  perfection  of  his  manly  beauty  and  strength;  his  form 
filled  out  to  its  finest  proportions,  and  Ins  bearing,  as  he  stood  before 
the  vast  multitude,  that  of  absolute  dignity  and  power.  His  manu 
script  lay  on  a  small  table  near  him,  but  I  think  lie  did  not  once  refer 
to  it.  His  manner  of  speaking  was  deliberate  and  commanding. 
When  he  came  to  the  passage  on  eloquence,  and  to  the  words,  '  It  is 
action,  noble,  .sublime,  godlike  action,'  he  stamped  his  foot  repeatedly 
on  the  stage,  his  form  seemed  to  dilate,  and  he  stood,  as  that  whole 


00  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

audience  saw  and  felt,  the  personification  of  what  he  so  perfectly 
described.  I  never  heard  him  when  his  manner  was  so  grand  and 
appropriate." — George  Ticknor,  quoted  by  Curtis  in  his  "  Life  of  Web 
ster,"  vol.  i.,  p.  275. J 

1.  1.  THIS  is  an  unaccustomed  spectacle.     For  the  first 
time,  fellow-citizens, badges  of  mourning  shroud  the  columns 
and  overhang  the  arches  of  this  hall.     These  walls,  which 
were  consecrated,  so  long  ago,  to  the  cause  of  American  lib 
erty,  which  witnessed  her  infant  struggles,  and  rung  with  the 
shouts  of  her  earliest  victories,  proclaim,  now,  that  distin 
guished  friends  and  champions  of  that  great  cause  have 
fallen.     It  is  right  that  it  should  be  thus.     The  tears  which 
flow,  and  the  honors  that   are  paid,  when  the  founders  of 
the  republic  die,  give  hope  that  the  republic  itself  may  be 
immortal.     It  is  fit  that,  by  public  assembly  and   solemn 
observance,  by  anthem  and   by  eulogy,  we  commemorate 
the  services  of  national  benefactors,  extol  their  virtues,  and 
render  thanks  to  God  for  eminent  blessings,  early  given 
and  long  continued,  through  their  agency,  to  our  favored 
country. 

2.  Adams  and  Jefferson  are  no  more  ;  and  we  are  as 
sembled,    fellow-citizens,  the  aged,  the  middle-aged,  and 
the  young,  by  the  spontaneous  impulse  of  all,  under  the 
authority  of  the  municipal  government,  with  the  presence 
of  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  others 
its  official  representatives,  the  University,  and  the  learned 
societies,  to  bear  our  part  in  those  manifestations  of  respect 
and  gratitude  which  pervade  the  whole  land.     Adams  and 
Jefferson  are  no  more.     On   our  fiftieth  anniversary,  the 
great  day  of  national  jubilee,  in  the  very  hour  of  public  re 
joicing,  in  the  midst  of   echoing  and  reechoing  voices  of 
thanksgiving,  while  their  own  names  were  on  all  tongues, 
they  took  their  flight  together  to  the  world  of  spirits. 

3.  If  it  be   true  that  no   one  can  safely  be  pronounced 
happy  while  he  lives,  if  that  event  which   terminates  life 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  61 

can  alone  crown  its  honors  and  its  glory,  what  felicity  is 
liere  !  The  great  epic  of  their  lives,  how  happily  con 
cluded  !  Poetry  itself  has  hardly  terminated  illustrious 
lives,  and  finished  the  career  of  earthly  renown,  by  such  a 
consummation.  If  we  had  the  power,  we  could  not  wish 
to  reverse  this  dispensation  of  the  Divine  Providence.  The 
great  objects  of  life  were  accomplished,  the  drama  was 
ready  to  be  closed.  It  has  closed  ;  our  patriots  have  fallen  ; 
hut  so  fallen,  at  such  age,  with  such  coincidence,  on  such 
a  day.  that  we  cannot  rationally  lament  that  that  end  has 
come  which  we  knew  could  not  be  long  deferred. 

4.  Neither  of  these   great    men,   fellow-citizens,   could 
have  died,  at  any  time,  without  leaving  an  immense  void 
in  our  American  society.     They  have  been  so  intimately, 
and  for  so  long  a    time,  blended  with  the  history  of  the 
country,  and  especially   so  united,  in  our   thoughts   and 
recollections,  with  the  events  of  the  Revolution,  that  the 
death  of  either  would  have  touched  the  chords  of  public 
sympathy.     We  should  have  felt  that  one  great  link  con 
necting  us  with  former  times  was  broken  ;  that  we  had  lost 
something  more,  as  it  were,  of  the  presence  of  the  Revolu 
tion  itself,  and  of  the  act  of  independence,  and  were  driven 
on,  by  another  great  remove  from  the  days  of  our  country's 
early  distinction,  to  meet  posterity,  and  to  mix  with  the 
future.     Like  the  mariner,  whom  the  currents  of  the  ocean 
and  the  winds  carry  along  till  he  sees  the  stars  which  have 
directed   his  course  and  lighted  his  pathless  way  descend, 
one  by  one,  beneath  the  rising  horizon,  we  should  have  felt 
that  the  stream  of  time  had  borne  us  onward  till  another 
great  luminary,  whose  light  had  cheered  us  and  whose  guid 
ance  we  had  followed,  had  sunk  away  from  our  sight. 

5.  But  the  concurrence  of  their  death  on  the  anniversary 
of  independence  has  naturally  awakened  stronger  emotions. 
Both  had  been  Presidents,  both  had  lived  to  great  age,  both 
were  early  patriots,  and   both   were  distinguished  and  ever 


62  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

honored  by  their  immediate  agency  in  the  act  of  inde 
pendence.  It  cannot  but  seem  striking  and  extraordinary, 
that  these  two  should  live  to  see  the  fiftieth  year  from  the 
date  of  that  act  ;  that  they  should  complete  that  year  ;  and 
that  then,  on  the  day  which  had  fast  linked  forever  their 
own  fame  with  their  country's  glory,  the  heavens  should 
open  to  receive  them  both  at  once.  As  their  lives  them 
selves  were  the  gifts  of  Providence,  who  is  not  willing  to 
recognize  in  their  happy  termination,  as  well  as  in  their 
long  continuance,  proofs  that  our  country  and  its  bene 
factors  are  objects  of  his  care  ? 

6.  Adams  and  Jefferson,  I  have  said,  are  no  more. 
As  human  beings,  indeed,  they  are  no  more.  They  are 
no  more,  as  in  1776,  bold  and  fearless  advocates  of  in 
dependence  ;  no  more,  as  at  subsequent  periods,  the  head 
of  the  government  ;  no  more,  as  we  have  recently  seen 
them,  aged  and  venerable  objects  of  admiration  and  re 
gard.  They  are  no  more.  They  are  dead.  But  how 
little  is  there  of  the  great  and  good  which  can  die  !  To 
their  country  they  yet  live,  and  live  forever.  They  live 
in  all  that  perpetuates  the  remembrance  of  men  on  earth  ; 
in  the  recorded  proofs  of  their  own  great  actions,  in  the 
offspring  of  their  intellect,  in  the  deep -engraved  lines 
of  public  gratitude,  and  in  the  respect  and  homage  of 
mankind.  They  live  in  their  example  ;  and  they  live, 
emphatically,  and  will  live,  in  the  influence  which  their 
lives  and  efforts,  their  principles  and  opinions,  now  exer 
cise,  and  will  continue  to  exercise,  on  the  affairs  of  men, 
not  only  in  their  own  country,  but  throughout  the  civil 
ized  world.  A  superior  and  commanding  human  intellect, 
a  truly  great  man,  when  Heaven  vouchsafes  so  rare  a  gift, 
is  not  a  temporary  flame,  burning  brightly  for  a  while, 
and  then  giving  place  to  returning  darkness.  It  is  rather 
a  spark  of  fervent  heat,  as  well  as  radiant  light,  with 
power  to  enkindle  the  common  mass  of  human  mind  ;  so 


ADAMS  AX  I)  JEFFERSON  63 

that  when  it  glimmers  in  its  own  decay,  and  finally  goes 
out  in  death,  no  night  follows,  but  it  leaves  the  world  all 
light,  all  on  fire,  from  the  potent  contact  of  its  own  spirit. 
Bacon  died  :  but  the  human  understanding,  roused  by  the 
touch  of  his  miraculous  wand  to  a  perception  of  the  true 
philosophy  and  the  just  mode  of  inquiring  after  truth,  has 
kept  on  its  course  successfully  and  gloriously.  Newton 
died  :  yet  the  courses  of  the  spheres  are  still  known,  and 
they  yet  move  on  by  the  laws  which  he  discovered,  and  in 
the  orbits  which  he  saw  and  described  for  them  in  the  in 
finity  of  space. 

7.  Xo  two  men  now  live,  fellow-citizens,  perhaps  it 
may  be  doubted  whether  any  two  men  have  ever  lived 
in  one  age,  who,  more  than  those  we  now  commemorate, 
have  impressed  on  mankind  their  own  sentiments  in  regard 
to  politics  and  government,  infused  their  own  opinions 
more  deeply  into  the  opinions  of  others,  or  given  a  more 
lasting  direction  to  the  current  of  human  thought.  Their 
work  doth  not  perish  with  them.  The  tree  which  they 
assisted  to  plant  will  flourish,  although  they  water  it  and 
protect  it  no  longer ;  for  it  has  struck  its  roots  deep,  it  has 
sent  them  to  the  very  centre  ;  no  storm,  not  of  force  to 
burst  the  orb,  can  overturn  it ;  its  branches  spread  wide  ; 
they  stretch  their  protecting  arms  broader  and  broader, 
and  its  top  is  destined  to  reach  the  heavens.  We  are  not 
deceived.  There  is  no  delusion  here.  Xo  age  will  come 
in  which  the  American  Revolution  will  appear  less  than  it 
is,  one  of  the  greatest  events  in  human  history.  No  age 
will  come  in  which  it  shall  cease  to  be  seen  and  felt,  on 
either  continent,  that  a  mighty  step,  a  great  advance,  not 
only  in  American  affairs,  but  in  human  affairs,  was  made 
on  the  4th  of  'July,  177'J.  And  no  age  will  come,  we  trust, 
so  ignorant  or  so  unjust  as  not  to  see  and  acknowledge  the 
efficient  agency  of  those  we  now  honor  in  producing  that 
momentous  event. 


64  DANIKL    WEBSTER 

8.  We  are  not  assembled,  therefore,  fellow-citizens,   as 
men  overwhelmed  with  calamity  by  the  sudden  disruption 
of  the  ties  of  friendship  or  affection,  or  as  in  despair  for 
the  republic  by  the  untimely  blighting  of  its  hopes.     Death 
has  not  surprised  us  by  an  unseasonable  blow.      \Ve  have, 
indeed,  seen  the  tomb  close,  but  it  has  closed  only  over 
mature  years,  over  long-protracted  public  service,  over  the 
weakness  of  age,  and  over  life  itself  only  when  the  ends 
of   living   had   been   fulfilled.     These   suns,   as  they  rose 
slowly  and  steadily,  amidst  clouds  and  storms,  in  their  as 
cendant,  so  they  have  not  rushed  from  their  meridian  to 
sink  suddenly  in  the  west.     Like  the  mildness,  the  serenity, 
the  continuing  benignity  of  a  summer's  day,   they   have 
gone  down  with  slow-descending,  grateful,  long-lingering 
light ;  and  now  that  they  are  beyond  the  visible  margin  of 
the  world,  good  omens  cheer  us  from  "  the  bright  track  of 
their  fiery  car  "  ! 

9.  There  were  many  points  of  similarity  in  the  lives  and 
fortunes  of  these  great  men.     They  belonged  to  the  same 
profession,  and  had  pursued  its  studies  and  its  practice,  for 
unequal  lengths  of   time  indeed,  but  with  diligence  and 
effect.     Both  were  learned  and  able  lawyers.     They  were 
natives  and  inhabitants,  respectively,  of  those  two  of  the 
Colonies1   which  at  the  Revolution  were  the  largest   and 
most  powerful,  and  which  naturally   had   a   lead    in    the 
political  affairs  of  the  times.     When  the  Colonies  became 
in  some  degree  united  by  the  assembling  of  a  general  Con 
gress,  they  were  brought  to  act  together  in  its  deliberations, 
not  indeed  at  the  same  time,  but  both  at  early  periods. 
Each  had  already  manifested  his  attachment  to  the  cause 
of  the  country,  as  well  as  his  ability  to  maintain  it,  by 
printed  addresses,  public  speeches,  extensive  correspond 
ence,  and  whatever  other  mode  could  be  adopted   for  the 
purpose   of    exposing   the   encroachments   of    the    British 

1  Jefferson,  of  Virginia  ;  Adams,  of  Massachusetts. 


ADAM'S  AND  JEFFERSON  65 

Parliament,  and  animating  the  people  to  a  manly  resist 
ance.  Both  were  not  only  decided,  but  early  friends  of 
independence.  While  others  yet  doubted,  they  were  re 
solved  ;  where  others  hesitated,  they  pressed  forward. 
They  were  both  members  of  the  committee  for  preparing 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  they  constituted 
the  subcommittee  appointed  by  the  other  members  to  make 
the  draft.  They  left  their  seats  in  Congress,  being  called 
to  other  public  employments,  at  periods  not  remote  from 
each  other,  although  one  of  them  returned  to  it  afterwards 
for  a  short  time.  Xeither  of  them  was  of  the  assembly  of 
great  men  which  formed  the  present  Constitution,  and 
neither  was  at  any  time  a  member  of  Congress  under  its 
provisions.  Both  have  been  public  ministers  abroad,  both 
Vice-Presidents  and  both  Presidents  of  the  United  States. 
These  coincidences  are  now  singularly  crowned  and  com 
pleted.  They  have  died  together;  and  they  died  on  the 
anniversary  of  liberty. 

10.  When  many  of  us  were  last  in  this  place,  fellow- 
citizens,  it  was  on  the  day  of  that  anniversary.  We  were 
met  to  enjoy  the  festivities  belonging  to  the  occasion,  and 
to  manifest  our  grateful  homage  to  our  political  fathers. 
We  did  not.  we  could  not  here,  forget  our  venerable  neigh 
bor1  of  Quincy.  We  knew  that  we  were  standing,  at  a 
time  of  high  and  palmy  prosperity,  where  he  had  stood  in 
the  hour  of  utmost  peril ;  that  we  saw  nothing  but  liberty 
and  security,  where  he  had  met  the  frown  of  power  ;  that 
we  were  enjoying  everything,  where  he  had  hazarded  every 
thing  ;  and  just  and  sincere  plaudits  rose  to  his  name  from 
the  crowds  which  filled  this  area  and  hung  over  these 
galleries,  lie  whose  grateful  duty  it  was  to  speak  to  us,2 
on  that  day,  of  the  virtues  of  our  fathers,  had,  indeed, 
admonished  us  that  time  and  years  were  about  to  level  his 
venerable  frame  with  the  dust.  But  he  bade  us  hope  that 

'  Adams.  3  Josiah  Quincy,  Mayor  of  Boston. 

0 


66  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

"  the  sound  of  a  nation's  joy,  rushing  from  our  cities, 
ringing  from  our  valleys,  echoing  from  our  hills,  might  yet 
break  the  silence  of  his  aged  ear  ;  that  the  rising  blessings 
of  grateful  millions  might  yet  visit  with  glad  light  his  de 
caying  vision."  Alas  !  that  vision  was  then  closing  for 
ever.  Alas !  the  silence  which  was  then  settling  on  that 
aged  ear  was  an  everlasting  silence !  For,  lo  !  in  the  very 
moment  of  our  festivities,  his  freed  spirit  ascended  to  Ciod 
who  gave  it !  Human  aid  and  human  solace  terminate  at 
the  grave  ;  or  we  would  gladly  have  borne  him  upward,  on 
a  nation's  outspread  hands  ;  we  would  have  accompanied 
him,  and  with  the  blessings  of  millions  and  the  prayers  of 
millions  commended  him  to  the  Divine  favor. 

11.  While  still  indulging  our  thoughts  on  the  coinci 
dence  of  the  death  of  this  venerable  man  with  the  anni 
versary  of  independence,  we  learn  that  Jefferson,  too,  has 
fallen  ;  and  that  these  aged  patriots,  these  illustrious  fel 
low-laborers,  have  left  our  world  together.  May  not  such 
events  raise  the  suggestion  that  they  are  not  undesigned, 
and  that  Heaven  does  so  order  things  as  sometimes  to 
attract  strongly  the  attention  and  excite  the  thoughts  of 
men  ?  The  occurrence  has  added  new  interest  to  our 
anniversary,  and  will  be  remembered  in  all  time  to 
come. 

II.  12.  The  occasion,  fellow-citizens,  requires  some  ac 
count  of  the  lives  and  services  of  John  Adams  and  Thomas 
Jefferson.  This  duty  must  necessarily  be  performed  with 
great  brevity,  and  in  the  discharge  of  it  1  shall  be  obliged 
to  confine  myself,  principally,  to  those  parts  of  their  his 
tory  and  character  which  belonged  to  them  as  public  men. 

13.  John  Adams  was  born  at  Quincy,  then  part  of  the 
ancient  town  of  Braintree,  on  the  19th  day  of  October 
(old  style),  1735.  He  was  a  descendant  of  the  Puritans, 
his  ancestors  having  early  emigrated  from  England  and 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFFRSON  67 

settled  in  Massachusetts.  Discovering1  in  childhood  a 
strong  love  of  reading  and  of  knowledge,  together  with 
marks  of  great  strength  and  activity  of  mind,  proper  care 
was  taken  by  his  worthy  father  to  provide  for  his  edu 
cation.  He  pursued  his  youthful  studies  in  Braintree, 
under  Mr.  Marsh,  a  teacher  whose  fortune  it  was  that 
Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  as  well  as  the  subject  of  these  remarks, 
should  receive  from  him  his  instruction  in  the  rudiments 
of  classical  literature.  Having  been  admitted,  in  1751,  a 
member  of  Harvard  College,  Mr.  Adams  was  graduated,  in 
course,  in  1755  ;  and  on  the  catalogue  of  that  institution, 
his  name,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  second  among  the 
living  alumni,  being  preceded  only  by  that  of  the  vener 
able  Holyoke.2  With  what  degree  of  reputation  he  left 
the  university  is  not  now  precisely  known.  We  know 
only  that  he  was  distinguished  in  a  class  which  numbered 
Locke  and  Hemmenway3  among  its  members.  Choosing 
the  law  for  his  profession,  he  commenced  and  prosecuted 
its  studies  at  Worcester  under  the  direction  of  Samuel 
Putnam,  a  gentleman  whom  he  has  himself  described  as 
an  acute  man,  an  able  and  learned  lawyer,  and  as  being  in 
large  professional  practice  at  that  time.  In  1758  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  the 
law  in  Braintree.  He  is  understood  to  have  made  his  first 
considerable  effort,  or  to  have  attained  his  first  signal  suc 
cess,  at  Plymouth,  on  one  of  those  occasions  which  furnish 
the  earliest  opportunity  for  distinction  to  many  young  men 
of  the  profession,  a  jury  trial  and  a  criminal  cause.  His 
business  naturally  grew  with  his  reputation,  and  his  resi- 

1  Displaying. 

'2  ''  I  myself  remember  Dr.  Holvoke,  of  Salem,  son  of  a  president  of 
Harvard  College,  who  answered  a  toast  proposed* in  his  honor  at  a 
dinner  given  to  him  on  his  hundredth  birthday  [1S2S1/1 — O.  W. 
Holmes,  OVIT  tie  Ttncu^,  p.  '.>(>. 

:'  Samuel  Locke  president  of  Harvard  1770-7-3  ;  Moses  Hemmeiiway, 
a  noted  Massachusetts  clergyman. 


68  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

dence  in  the  vicinity  afforded  the  opportunity,  as  his  grow 
ing  eminence  gave  the  power,  of  entering  on  a  larger  field 
of  practice  in  the  capital.  In  1766  he  removed  his  resi 
dence  to  Boston,  still  continuing  his  attendance  on  the 
neighboring  circuits,  and  not  unfrequently  called  to  remote 
parts  of  the  Province.  In  1770  his  professional  firmness 
was  brought  to  a  test  of  some  severity,  on  the  application 
of  the  British  officers  and  soldiers  to  undertake  their  de 
fence,  on  the  trial  of  the  indictments  found  against  them 
on  account  of  the  transactions  of  the  memorable  5th  of 
March.1  He  seems  to  have  thought,  on  this  occasion,  that 
a  man  can  no  more  abandon  the  proper  duties  of  his  pro 
fession  than  he  can  abandon  other  duties.  The  event 
proved  that,  as  he  judged  well  for  his  own  reputation,  so, 
too,  he  judged  well  for  the  interest  and  permanent  fame  of 
his  country.  The  result  of  that  trial  proved  that,  notwith 
standing  the  high  degree  of  excitement  then  existing  in 
consequence  of  the  measures  of  the  British  Government,  a 
jury  of  Massachusetts  would  not  deprive  the  most  reckless 
enemies,  even  the  officers  of  that  standing  army  quartered 
among  them,  which  they  so  perfectly  abhorred,  of  any 
part  of  that  protection  which  the  law,  in  its  mildest  and 
most  indulgent  interpretation,  affords  to  persons  accused 
of  crimes. 

14.  Without  following  Mr.  Adams's  professional  course 
further,  suffice  it  to  say,  that  on  the  first  establishment  of 
the  judicial  tribunals  under  the  authority  of  the  State,  in 
1776,  he  received  an  offer  of  the  high  and  responsible  sta 
tion  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massa 
chusetts.  But  he  was  destined  for  another  and  a  different 
career.  From  early  life  the  bent  of  his  mind  was  toward 
politics  ;  a  propensity  which  the  state  of  the  times,  if  it  did 
not  create,  doubtless  very  much  strengthened.  Public 
subjects  must  have  occupied  the  thoughts  and  filled  up 
1  The  so-called  "  Boston  Massacre." 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  69 

the  conversation  in  the  circles  in  which  he  then  moved  ; 
and  the  interesting  questions  at  that  time  just  arising  could 
not  but  seize  on  a  mind  like  his,  ardent,  sanguine,  and 
patriotic.  A  letter,  fortunately  preserved,  written  by  him 
at  Worcester,  so  early  as  the  12th  of  October,  1755,  is  a 
proof  of  very  comprehensive  views,  and  uncommon  depth 
of  reflection,  in  a  young  man  not  yet  quite  twenty.  In 
this  letter-he  predicted  the  transfer  of  power,  and  the  es 
tablishment  of  a  new  seat  of  empire  in  America  ;  he  pre 
dicted,  also,  the  increase  of  population  in  the  Colonies  ; 
and  anticipated  their  naval  distinction,  and  foretold  that 
all  Europe  combined  could  not  subdue  them.  All  this  is 
said,  not  on  a  public  occasion  or  for  effect,  but  in  the  style 
of  sober  and  friendly  correspondence,  as  the  result  of  his 
own  thoughts.  "  I  sometimes  retire," said  he,  at  the  close 
of  the  letter,  "  and,  laying  things  together,  form  some  re 
flections  pleasing  to  myself.  The  produce  of  one  of  these 
reveries  you  have  read  above."  This  prognostication,  so 
early  in  his  own  life,  so  early  in  the  history  of  the  country, 
of  independence,  of  vast  increase  of  numbers,  of  naval 
force,  of  such  augmented  power  as  might  defy  all  Europe, 
is  remarkable.  It  is  more  remarkable  that  its  author  should 
live  to  see  fulfilled  to  the  letter  what  could  have  seemed  to 
others,  at  the  time,  but  the  extravagance  of  youthful 
fancy.  His  earliest  political  feelings  were  thus  strongly 
American,  and  from  this  ardent  attachment  to  his  native 
soil  he  never  departed. 

15.  While  still  living  at  Quincy,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four,  Mr.  Adams  was  present,  in  this  town,  at  the  argu 
ment  before  the  Supreme  Court  respecting  Writs  of  As 
sistance,1  and  heard  the  celebrated  and  patriotic  speech  of 
James  Otis.  Unquestionably,  that  was  a  masterly  per 
formance.  No  flighty  declamation  about  liberty,  no  super- 

1  Writs  authorizing  officers  of  the  Crown  to  summon  assistance  and 
enter  and  search  any  house  for  dutiable  merchandise. 


70  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

ficial  discussion  of  popular  topics,  it  was  a  learned,  pene 
trating,  convincing,  constitutional  argument,  expressed  in 
a  strain  of  high  and  resolute  patriotism.  lie  grasped  the 
question  then  pending  between  England  and  her  Colonies 
with  the  strength  of  a  lion  ;  and  if  he  sometimes  sported, 
it  was  only  because  the  lion  himself  is  sometimes  playful. 
Its  success  appears  to  have  been  as  great  as  its  merits,  and  its 
impression  was  widely  felt.  Mr.  Adams  himself  seems  never 
to  have  lost  the  feeling  it  produced,  and  to  have  entertained 
constantly  the  fullest  conviction  of  its  important  effects. 
"  I  do  say/'  he  observes,  "  in  the  most  solemn  manner, 
that  Mr.  Otis's  Oration  against  Writs  of  Assistance  breathed 
into  this  nation  the  breath  of  life." 

16.  In  1765  Mr.  Adams  laid  before  the  public,  anony 
mously,  a  series  of  essays,  afterwards  collected  in  a  vol 
ume  in  London,  under  the  title  of  "A  Dissertation  on  the 
Canon  and  Feudal  Law."  The  object  of  this  work  was 
to  show  that  our  New  England  ancestors,  in  consenting 
to  exile  themselves  from  their  native  land,  were  actuated 
mainly  by  the  desire  of  delivering  themselves  from  the 
power  of  the  hierarchy,  and  from  the  monarchical  and 
aristocratical  systems  of  the  other  continent  ;  and  to  make 
this  truth  bear  with  effect  on  the  politics  of  the  times.  Its 
tone  is  uncommonly  bold  and  animated  for  that  period. 
He  calls  on  the  people,  not  only  to  defend,  but  to  study 
and  understand,  their  rights  and  privileges  ;  urges  eanu  stly 
the  necessity  of  diffusing  general  knowledge  ;  invokes  the 
clergy  and  the  bar,  the  colleges  and  academies,  and  all 
others  who  have  the  ability  and  the  means  to  expose  the 
insidious  designs  of  arbitrary  power,  to  resist  its  approaches, 
$nd  to.  b,o  persuaded  that  tlioru  is  a  settled  design  on  foot 
f;q  enslave  all  America.  "  Be  it  remembered,"  says  the 
author,  "that  liberty  must,  at  all  hazards,  be  supposed. 
We  have  a  right  to  it,  derived  from  our  Maker.  But  if  we 
had  not,  our  fathers  have  earned  and  bought  it  for  us,  at 


ADAM'S  AND  JEFFERSON  71 

the  expense  of  their  ease,  their  estates,  their  pleasure,  and 
their  blood.  And  liberty  cannot  be  preserved  without  a 
general  knowledge  among  the  people,  who  have  a  right, 
from  the  frame  of  their  nature,  to  knowledge,  as  their  great 
Creator,  who  does  nothing  in  vain,  has  given  them  under 
standings  and  a  desire  to  know.  But,  besides  this,  they 
have  a  right,  an  indisputable,  unalienable,  indefeasible, 
divine  right,  to  that  most  dreaded  and  envied  kind  of 
knowledge,  I  mean  of  the  characters  and  conduct'  of  their 
rulers.  Rulers  are  no  more  than  attorneys,  agents,  and 
trustees  for  the  people  ;  and  if  the  cause,  the  interest  and 
trust,  is  insidiously  betrayed,  or  wantonly  trifled  away,  the 
people  have  a  right  to  revoke  the  authority  that  they  them 
selves  have  deputed,  and  to  constitute  abler  and  better 
agents,  attorneys,  and  trustees." 

17.  The  citizens  of  this  town  conferred  on  Mr.  Adams 
his   first  political  distinction,  and  clothed  him  with  his 
first  political  trust,  by  electing  him  one  of  their  represen 
tatives,  in  1770.     Before  this  time  he  had  become  exten 
sively  known  throughout  the  Province,  as  well  by  the  part 
he  had  acted  in   relation  to  public  affairs,  as  by  the  exer 
cise  of  his  professional  ability.     He  was  among  those  who 
took  the  deepest  interest  in  the  controversy  with  England, 
and   whether   in  or  out  of  the  legislature,  his  time  and 
talents  were  alike  devoted  to  the  cause.     In  the  years  1773 
and  1774  lie  was  chosen  a  Councillor  by  the  members  of  the 
General  Court,  but   rejected  by  Governor  Hutchinson  in 
the  former  of  those  years,  and  by  Governor  Gage  in  the 
latter. 

18.  The   time   was   now   at   hand,  however,   when   the 
affairs  of  the  Colonies  urgently  demanded  united  counsels 
throughout  the  country.     An  open  rupture  with  the  parent 
state  appeared  inevitable,  and  it  was  but   the  dictate  of 
prudence  that  those  who  were  united  by  a  common  in 
terest  and  a  common  danger  should  protect  that  interest 


72  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

and  guard  against  that  danger  by  united  efforts.  A  general 
Congress  of  Delegates  from  all  the  Colonies  having  been 
proposed  and  agreed  to,  the  House  of  Representatives,  on 
the  17th  of  June,  1774,  elected  James  Bowdoin,  Thomas 
Gushing,  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams,  and  Robert  Treat 
Paine,  delegates  from  Massachusetts.  This  appointment 
was  made  at  Salem,  Avhere  the  General  Court  had  been 
convened  by  Governor  Gage,  in  the  last  hour  of  the  exist 
ence  of  a  House  of  Representatives  under  the  Provincial 
Charter.  While  engaged  in  this  important  business,  the 
Governor,  having  been  informed  of  what  was  passing,  sent 
his  secretary  with  a  message  dissolving  the  General  Court. 
The  secretary,  finding  the  door  locked,  directed  the  mes 
senger  to  go  in  and  inform  the  Speaker  that  the  secretary 
was  at  the  door  with  a  message  from  the  Governor.  The 
messenger  returned,  and  informed  the  secretary  that  the 
orders  of  the  House  were  that  the  doors  should  be  kept 
fast ;  whereupon  the  secretary  soon  after  read  upon  the 
stairs  a  proclamation  dissolving  the  General  Court.  Thus 
terminated,  forever,  the  actual  exercise  of  the  political 
power  of  England  in  or  over  Massachusetts.  The  four 
last-named  delegates  accepted  their  appointments,  and 
took  their  seats  in  Congress  the  first  day  of  its  meeting, 
the  5th  of  September,  1774,  in  Philadelphia. 

19.  The  proceedings  of  the  first  Congress  are  well  known, 
and  have  been  universally  admired.  It  is  in  vain  that  we 
would  look  for  superior  proofs  of  wisdom,  talent,  and  pa 
triotism.  Lord  Chatham  said,  that,  for  himself,  he  must 
declare  that  he  had  studied  and  admired  the  free  states  of 
antiquity,  the  master  states  of  the  world,  but  that  for 
solidity  of  reasoning,  force  of  sagacity,  and  wisdom  of  con 
clusion,  no  body  of  men  could  stand  in  preference  to  this 
Congress.  It  is  hardly  inferior  praise  to  say,  that  no  pro 
duction  of  that  great  man  himself  can  be  pronounced 
superior  to  several  of  the  papers  published  as  the  proceed- 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  73 

ings  of  this  most  able,  most  firm,  most  patriotic  assembly. 
There  is,  indeed,  nothing  superior  to  them  in  the  range  of 
political  disquisition.  They  not  only  embrace,  illustrate, 
and  enforce  everything  which  political  philosophy,  the 
love  of  liberty,  and  the  spirit  of  free  inquiry  had  antece 
dently  produced,  but  they  add  new  and  striking  views  of 
their  own.  and  apply  the  whole,  with  irresistible  force,  in 
support  of  the  cause  which  had  drawn  them  together. 

2o.  Mr.  Adams  was  a  constant  attendant  on  the  delibera 
tions  of  this  body,  and  bore  an  active  part  in  its  important 
measures.  He  was  of  the  committee  to  state  the  rights  of 
the  Colonies,  and  of  that  also  which  reported  the  Address 
to  the  King. 

III.  21.  As  it  was  in  the  Continental  Congress,  fellow- 
citizens,  that  those  whose  deaths  have  given  rise  to  this  oc 
casion  were  first  brought  together,  and  called  upon  to  unite 
their  industry  and  their  ability  in  the  service  of  the  coun 
try,  let  us  now  turn  to  the  other  of  these  distinguished 
men,  and  take  a  brief  notice  of  his  life  up  to  the  period 
when  he  appeared  within  the  walls  of  Congress. 

22.  Thomas  Jefferson,  descended  from  ancestors  who 
had  been  settled  in  Virginia  for  some  generations,  was  born 
near  the  spot  on  which  he  died,  in  the  county  of  Albe- 
marle.  on  the  2d  of  April  (old  style),  1743.  His  youthful 
studies  were  pursued  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  father's 
residence  until  he  was  removed  to  the  College  of  William 
and  Mary,  the  highest  honors  of  which  he  in  due  time  re 
ceived.  Having  left  the  college  with  reputation,  he  ap 
plied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  law  under  the  tuition  of 
(leorge  Wythe,  one  of  the  highest  judicial  names  of  which 
that  State  can  boast.  At  an  early  age  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  legislature,  in  which  he  had  no  sooner  ap 
peared  than  he  distinguished  himself  by  knowledge,  capac 
ity,  and  promptitude. 


74  DANIEL    WEBS  TEH 

23.  Mr.  Jefferson  appears  to  have  been  imbued  with  an 
early  love  of  letters  and  science,  and  to  have  cherished  a 
strong  disposition  to  pursue  these  objects.     To  the  physi 
cal  sciences,  especially,  and  to  ancient  classic  literature,  he 
is  understood   to  have  had  a  warm  attachment,  and  never 
entirely  to  have  lost  sight  of  them  in  the  midst  of  the  busi 
est  occupations.     But  the  times  were   times   for  action, 
rather  than  for  contemplation.     The  country  was  to  be  de 
fended,  and  to  be  saved,  before  it  could  be  enjoyed.     Phil 
osophic  leisure  and  literary  pursuits,  and  even  the  objects 
of  professional  attention,  were  all  necessarily  postponed  to 
the   urgent  calls  of  the  public  service.     The  exigency  of 
the  country  made  the  same  demand  on  Mr.  Jefferson  that 
it  made  on  others  who  had  the  ability  and  the  disposition 
to  serve  it  ;  and  he  obeyed  the  call  ;  thinking  and  feeling 
in  this  respect  with  the  great  Eoman  orator  :  "'  Qnis  enim 
est  tarn  cupidus  in  perspicienda  cognoscendaque  rerum  na- 
tura,   ut,  si  ei  tractanti   contemplantique    res  cognitione 
dignissimas   subito   sit   allatum    periculum    discrimenque 
patrise,  cui  subvenire  opitularique  possit,  11011  ilia  omnia 
relinquat  atque  abjiciat,  etiam  si  dinumerare  se  stellas,  aut 
metiri  mundi  magnitudinem  posse  arbitretur  ?  "  l 

24.  Entering  with  all  his  heart  into  the  cause  of  liberty, 
his  ability,  patriotism,  and  power  with  the  pen  naturally 
drew  upon  him  a  large  participation  in  the  most  important 
concerns.     Wherever  he  was,  there  was  found   a  soul   de 
voted  to  the  cause,  power  to  defend  and  maintain  it,  and 
willingness  to  incur  all  its  hazards.     In  1774  he  published 

1  "  For  who  is  so  zealous  in  perceiving  aud  comprehending  the  nat 
ure  of  things,  that  if,  while  he  is  treating  and  meditating  the  highest 
subjects  of  thought,  he  suddenly  is  made  aware  of  the  peril  and  crisis 
of  that  country  which  it  is  his  privilege  to  help  and  to  succor,  he  will 
not  abandon  and  cast  aside  all  those  studies,  even  if  he  should  deem 
himself  fit  to  number  the  stars  or  to  measure  the  bigness  of  the 
world  'i  " — Cicero,  JJe  Ofliciw,  1  43. 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFEKSON  75 

a  "  Summary  View  of  the  Rights  of  British  America,"  a 
valuable  production  among  those  intended  to  show  the 
dangers  which  threatened  the  liberties  of  the  country,  and 
to  encourage  the  people  in  their  defence.  In  June,  1775, 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  as 
successor  to  Peyton  Randolph,  who  had  resigned  his  place 
on  account  of  ill-health,  and  took  his  seat  in  that  body  on 
the  21st  of  the  same  month. 

IV.  25.  And  now,  fellow-citizens,  without  pursuing  the 
biography  of  these  illustrious  men  further,  for  the  present, 
let  us  turn  our  attention  to  the  most  prominent  act  of  their 
lives,  their  participation  in  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence. 

26.  Preparatory  to  the  introduction  of  that  important 
measure,  a  committee,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Mr.  Adams, 
had  reported  a  resolution.  Avhich   Congress  adopted  on  the 
10th  of  May,  recommending,  in   substance,  to  all  the  Col 
onies  which  had  not  already  established  governments  suited 
to  the  exigencies  of  their  affairs,  to  adopt  such  government 
as  would,  in  the  opinion  of  the  representatives  of  the  peo 
ple,  best  conduce  to  the  happiness  and  safety  of  their  con 
stituents  in  particular,  and  America  in  general. 

27.  This  significant  vote  was  soon  followed  by  the  direct 
proposition   which   Richard   Henry  Lee  had  the  honor  to 
submit  to  Congress,  by  resolution,  on   the  seventh  day  of 
June.     The  published  journal  does  not  expressly  state  it, 
but  there   is  no  doubt,  I  suppose,  that  this  resolution  was 
in  the  same  words,  when  originally  submitted  by  Mr.  Lee, 
as  when  finally  passed.      Having  been  discussed  on  Satur 
day,  the  8th.  and  Monday,  the  10th  of  June,  this  resolution 
was  on  the  last  mentioned  day  postponed  for  further  con 
sideration  to  the  first  day  of  July  ;  and  at  the  same  time  it 
was  voted,  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  Dec 
laration  to  the  effect  of  the  resolution.     This  committee 


76  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

was  elected  by  ballot  on  the  following  day,  and  consisted 
of  Thomas  Jefferson,  John  Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Roger  Sherman,  and  Robert  R.  Livingston. 

28.  It  is  usual,  when   committees  are  elected  by  ballot, 
that  their  members  should  be  arranged  in  order,  according 
to  the  number  of  votes  which  each  has  received.     Mr.  Jef 
ferson,  therefore,  had  received  the  highest,  and  Mr.  Adams 
the  next  highest  number  of  votes.1     The  difference  is  said 
to  have  been  but  of  a  single  vote.     Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr. 
Adams,  standing  thus  at  the  head  of  the  committee,  were 
requested  by  the  other  members  to  act  as  a  subcommittee  to 
prepare  the  draft ;  and  Mr.  Jefferson  drew  up  the  paper. 
The  original  draft,  as  brought  by  him  from  his  study,  and 
submitted  to  the  other  members  of    the  committee,  with 
interlineations  in  the  handwriting  of  Dr.  Franklin,  and 
others  in  that  of  Mr.  Adams,  was  in  Mr.  Jefferson's  posses 
sion  at  the  time  of  his  death.     The  merit  of  this  paper  is 
Mr.  Jefferson's.     Some  changes  were  made  in  it  at  the  sug 
gestion  of  other  members  of  the  committee,  and  others  by 
Congress  while  it  was  under  discussion.     But  none  of  them 
altered  the  tone,  the  frame,  the  arrangement,  or  the  gen 
eral  character  of  the  instrument.     As  a  composition,  the 
Declaration  is  Mr.  Jefferson's.     It  is  the  production  of  his 
mind,  and  the  high  honor  of  it  belongs  to  him,  clearly  and 
absolutely. 

29.  It  has  sometimes  been  said,  as  if  it  were  a  deroga 
tion  from  the  merits  of  this  paper,  that  it  contains  nothing 
new  ;  that  it  only  states  grounds  of  proceeding  and  presses 
topics  of  argument  which  had  often  been  stated  and  pressed 
before.     But  it  was  not  the  object  of  the  Declaration  to 
produce  anything  new.     It  was  not  to  invent  reasons  for 

1  "Of  this  committee  Mr.  Lee  would  doubtless  have  been  the  chair 
man,  had  he  not  been  already  on  his  way  to  Virginia  to  attend  the 
sick-bed  of  his  wife.  His  associate,  Thomas  Jefferson,  was  named  in 
his  place." — Higgiuson's  Larger  History  of  the  United  States,  p.  268. 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  77 

independence,  but  to  state  those  which  governed  the  Con 
gress.  For  great  and  sufficient  causes  it  was  proposed  to 
declare  independence ;  and  the  proper  business  of  the 
paper  to  be  drawn  was  to  set  forth  those  causes,  and  justify 
the  authors  of  the  measure,  in  any  event  of  fortune,  to  the 
country  and  to  posterity.  The  cause  of  American  inde 
pendence,  moreover,  was  now  to  be  presented  to  the  world 
in  such  manner,  if  it  might  so  be,  as  to  engage  its  sym 
pathy,  to  command  its  respect,  to  attract  its  admiration  ; 
and  in  an  assembly  of  most  able  and  distinguished  men, 
Thomas  Jefferson  had  the  high  honor  of  being  the  select 
ed  advocate  of  this  cause.  To  say  that  he  performed  his 
great  work  well  would  be  doing  him  injustice.  To  say 
that  he  did  excellently  well,  admirably  well,  would  be  in 
adequate  and  halting  praise.  Let  us  rather  say,  that  he  so 
discharged  the  duty  assigned  him,  that  all  Americans  may 
well  rejoice  that  the  work  of  drawing  the  title-deed  of  their 
liberties  devolved  upon  him. 

3().  With  all  its  merits,  there  are  those  who  have  thought 
that  there  was  one  thing  in  the  Declaration  to  be  regretted  ; 
and  that  is,  the  asperity  and  apparent  anger  with  which  it 
speaks  of  the  person  of  the  king  ;  the  industrious  ability 
with  which  it  accumulates  and  charges  upon  him  all  the 
injuries  which  the  Colonies  had  suffered  from  the  mother 
country.  Possibly  some  degree  of  injustice,  now  or  here 
after,  at  home  or  abroad,  may  be  done  to  the  character  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  if  this  part  of  the  Declaration  be  not  placed 
in  its  proper  light.  Anger  or  resentment,  certainly  much 
less  personal  reproach  and  invective,  could  not  properly 
iind  place  in  a  composition  of  such  high  dignity  and  of  such 
lofty  and  permanent  character. 

31.  A  single  reflection  on  the  original  ground  of  dispute 
between  England  and  the  Colonies  is  sufficient  to  remove 
any  unfavorable  impression  in  this  respect. 

3'^.   The  inhabitants  of  all  the  Colonies,  while  Colonies, 


78  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

admitted  themselves  bound  by  their  allegiance  to  the  king  ; 
but  they  disclaimed  altogether  the  authority  of  Parlia 
ment  ;  holding  themselves,  in  this  respect,  to  resemble  the 
condition  of  Scotland  and  Ireland  before  the  respective 
unions  of  those  kingdoms  with  England,  when  they  ac 
knowledged  allegiance  to  the  same  king,  but  had  each  its 
separate  legislature.  The  tie,  therefore,  which  our  Revo 
lution  was  to  break,  did  not  subsist  between  us  and  the 
British  Parliament,  or  between  us  and  the  British  Govern 
ment  in  the  aggregate,  but  directly  between  us  and  the 
king  himself.  The  Colonies  had  never  admitted  them 
selves  subject  to  Parliament.  That  was  precisely  the  point 
of  .the  original  controversy.  They  had  uniformly  denied 
that  Parliament  had  authority  to  make  laws  for  them. 
There  was,  therefore,  no  subjection  to  Parliament  to  be 
thrown  off.  But  allegiance  to  the  king  did  exist,  and  had 
been  uniformly  acknowledged  ;  and  down  to  1775  the  most 
solemn  assurances  had  been  given  that  it  was  not  intended 
to  break  that  allegiance,  or  to  throw  it  off.  Therefore,  as 
the  direct  object  and  only  effect  of  the  Declaration,  accord 
ing  to  the  principles  on  which  the  controversy  had  been 
maintained  on  our  part,  were  to  sever  the  tie  of  allegiance 
which  bound  us  to  the  king,  it  was  properly  and  necessarily 
founded  on  acts  of  the  crown  itself,  as  its  justifying  causes. 
Parliament  is  not  so  much  as  mentioned  in  the  whole  in 
strument.1  When  odious  and  oppressive  acts  are  referred 
to,  it  is  done  by  charging  the  king  with  confederating  with 
others  "in  pretended  acts  of  legislation  ;"  the  object  being 
constantly  to  hold  the  king  himself  directly  responsible  for 
those  measures  which  were  the  grounds  of  separation. 
Even  the  precedent  of  the  English  Revolution  was  not 
overlooked,  and  in  this  case,  as  well  as  in  that,  occasion  was 

1  The  words  "  submission  to  their  parliament  was  no  part  of  our 
constitution"  were  in  the  original  draft  of  the  Declaration,  but  were 
stricken  out  by  vote  of  the  Congress. 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  79 

found  to  say  that  the  king  had  abdicated  the  government.1 
Consistency  with  the  principles  upon  which  resistance 
began,  and  with  all  the  previous  state  papers  issued  by 
Congress,  required  that  the  Declaration  should  be  bottomed 
on  the  misgovernment  of  the  king  ;  and,  therefore,  it  was 
properly  framed  with  that  aim  and  to  that  end.  The  king 
was  known,  indeed,  to  have  acted,  as  in  other  cases,  by  his 
ministers,  and  with  his  Parliament ;  but  as  our  ancestors 
had  never  admitted  themselves  subject  either  to  ministers 
or  to  Parliament,  there  were  no  reasons  to  be  given  for 
now  refusing  obedience  to  their  authority.  This  clear  and 
obvious  necessity  of  founding  the  Declaration  on  the  mis 
conduct  of  the  king  himself  gives  to  that  instrument  its 
personal  application,  and  its  character  of  direct  and  pointed 
accusation. 

33.  The  Declaration  having  been  reported  to  Congress 
by  the  committee,  the  resolution  itself  was  taken  up  and 
debated  on  the  first  day  of  July,  and  again  on  the  second, 
on  which  last  day  it  was  agreed  to   and  adopted,  in  these 
words  : — 

"'  Kesolred,  That  these  united  Colonies  are,  and  of  right 
ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States  ;  that  they  are 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that 
all  political  connection  between  them  and  the  state  of 
Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved." 

34.  Having  thus  passed  the  main  resolution,  Congress 
proceeded  to  consider  the  reported  draft  of  the  Declaration. 
It  was  discussed  on  the  second,  and  third,  and  fourth  days 
of  the  month,  in  committee  of  the  whole  ;  and  on  the  last 
of  those  days,  being  reported  from  that  committee,  it  re 
ceived  the  final  approbation  and  sanction  of  Congress.     It 

'The  Commons,  in  1089,  after  King  James  II.  had  fled  from 
London,  voted  that  the  King,  "  having  withdrawn  himself  out  of  the 
kingdom,  has  abdicated  the  government,  and  that  the  throne  is  there 
by  vacant." 


80  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

was  ordered,  at  the  same  time,  that  copies  be  sent  to  the 
several  States,  and  that  it  be  proclaimed  at  the  head  of  the 
army.  The  Declaration  thus  published  did  not  bear  the 
names  of  the  members,  for  as  yet  it  had  not  been  signed 
by  them.  It  was  authenticated,  like  other  papers  of  the 
Congress,  by  the  signatures  of  the  President  and  Secretary. 
On  the  19th  of  July,  as  appears  by  the  secret  journal, 
Congress  "Resolved,  That  the  Declaration,  passed  on  the 
fourth,  be  fairly  engrossed  on  parchment,  with  the  title 
and  style  of  '  The  Unanimous  Declaration  of  the  Thirteen 
United  States  of  America  ; '  and  that  the  same,  when  en 
grossed,  be  signed  by  every  member  of  Congress."  And 
on  the  second  day  of  August  following,  "  the  Declaration, 
being  engrossed  and  compared  at  the  table,  was  signed  by 
the  members."  So  that  it  happens,  fellow-citizens,  that 
we  pay  these  honors  to  their  memory  on  the  anniversary 
of  that  day  (3d  of  August)  on  which  these  great  men  ac 
tually  signed  their  names  to  the  Declaration.  The  Decla 
ration  was  thus  made,  that  is,  it  passed  and  was  adopted  as 
an  act  of  Congress,  on  the  4th  of  July  ;  it  was  then  signed, 
and  certified  by  the  President  and  Secretary,  like  other 
acts.  The  4th  of  July,  therefore,  is  the  anniversary  of 
the  Declaration.  But  the  signatures  of  the  members  pres 
ent  were  made  to  it,  being  then  engrossed  on  parchment, 
on  the  second  day  of  August.  Absent  members  afterwards 
signed,  as  they  came  in  ;  and,  indeed,  it  bears  the  names 
of  some  who  were  not  chosen  members  of  Congress  until 
after  the  4th  of  July.  The  interest  belonging  to  the  sub 
ject  will  be  sufficient,  I  hope,  to  justify  these  details. 

35.  The  Congress  of  the  Revolution,  fellow-citizens,  sat 
with  closed  doors,  and  no  report  of  its  debates  was  ever 
made.  The  discussion,  therefore,  which  accompanied  this 
great  measure  has  never  been  preserved,  except  in  memory 
and  by  tradition.  But  it  is,  T  believe,  doing  no  injustice 
to  others  to  say,  that  the  general  opinion  was,  and  uni- 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  81 

formly  has  been,  that  in  debate,  on  the  side  of  indepen 
dence,  John  Adams  had  no  equal.  The  great  author  of 
the  Declaration  himself  has  expressed  that  opinion  uni 
formly  and  strongly.  "John  Adams,"  said  he,  in  the 
hearing  of  him  who  has  now  the  honor  to  address  you, 
"  John  Adams  was  our  colossus  on  the  floor.  Not  grace 
ful,  not  elegant,  not  always  fluent  in  his  public  addresses, 
lie  yet  came  out  with  a  power,  both  of  thought  and  of  ex 
pression,  which  moved  us  from  our  seats." 

30.  For  the  part  which  he  was  here  to  perform,  Mr. 
Adams  doubtless  was  eminently  fitted.  He  possessed  a 
bold  spirit,  which  disregarded  danger,  and  a  sanguine  re 
liance  on  the  goodness  of  the  cause,  and  the  virtues  of  the 
people,  which  led  him  to  overlook  all  obstacles.  His  char 
acter,  too,  had  been  formed  in  troubled  times.  He  had 
been  rocked  in  the  early  storms  of  the  controversy,  and 
had  acquired  a  decision  and  a  hardihood  proportioned  to 
the  severity  of  the  discipline  which  he  had  undergone. 

37.  He  not  only  loved  the  American  cause  devoutly,  but 
had  studied  and  understood  it.  It  was  all  familiar  to  him. 
He  had  tried  his  powers  on  the  questions  which  it  in 
volved,  often  and  in  various  ways  ;  and  had  brought  to 
their  consideration  whatever  of  argument  or  illustration 
the  history  of  his  own  country,  the  history  of  England,  or 
the  stores  of  ancient  or  of  legal  learning  could  furnish. 
Every  grievance  enumerated  in  the  long  catalogue  of  the 
Declaration  had  been  the  subject  of  his  discussion,  and  the 
object  of  his  remonstrance  and  reprobation.  From  1700, 
the  Colonies,  the  rights  of  the  Colonies,  the  liberties  of 
the  Colonies,  and  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  the  Colonies,  had 
engaged  his  constant  attention  ;  and  it  has  surprised  those 
who  have  had  the  opportunity  of  witnessing  it,  with  what 
full  remembrance  and  with  what  prompt  recollection  he 
could  refer,  in  his  extreme  old  age,  to  every  act  of  Parlia 
ment  affecting  the  Colonies,  distinguishing  and  stating 
6 


82  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

their  respective  titles,  sections,  and  provisions  ;  and  to  all 
the  Colonial  memorials,  remonstrances,  and  petitions,  with 
whatever  else  belonged  to  the  intimate  and  exact  history 
of  the  times  from  that  year  to  1775.  It  was,  in  his  own 
judgment,  between  these  years  that  the  American  people 
came  to  a  full  understanding  and  thorough  knowledge  of 
their  rights,  and  to  a  fixed  resolution  of  maintaining  them  ; 
and  bearing  himself  an  active  part  in  all  important  trans 
actions,  the  controversy  with  England  being  then  in  effect 
the  business  of  his  life,  facts,  dates,  and  particulars  made 
an  impression  Avhich  was  never  effaced.  He  was  prepared, 
therefore,  by  education  and  discipline,  as  well  as  by  natu 
ral  talent  and  natural  temperament,  for  the  part  which  he 
was  now  to  act.. 

38.  The  eloquence  of  Mr.  Adams  resembled  his  general 
character,  and  formed,  indeed,  a  part  of  it.  It  was  bold, 
manly,  and  energetic  ;  and  such  the  crisis  required.  When 
public  bodies  are  to  be  addressed  on  momentous  occasions, 
when  great  interests  are  at  stake,  and  strong  passions  ex 
cited,  nothing  is  valuable  in  speech  farther  than  as  it  is 
connected  with  high  intellectual  and  moral  endowments. 
Clearness,  force,  and  earnestness  are  the  qualities  which 
produce  conviction.  True  eloquence,  indeed,  does  not 
consist  in  speech.  It  cannot  be  brought  from  far.  Labor 
and  learning  may  toil  for  it,  but  they  will  toil  in  vain. 
Words  and  phrases  may  be  marshalled  in  every  way,  but 
they  cannot  compass  it.  It  must  exist  in  the  man,  in  the 
subject,  and  in  the  occasion.  Affected  passion,  intense 
expression,  the  pomp  of  declamation,  all  may  aspire  to  it  ; 
they  cannot  reach  it.  It  comes,  if  it  come  at  all,  like  the 
outbreaking  of  a  fountain  from  the  earth,  or  the  bursting 
forth  of  volcanic  fires,  with  spontaneous,  original,  native 
force.  The  graces  taught  in  the  schools,  the  costly  orna 
ments  and  studied  contrivances  of  speech,  shock  and  dis 
gust  men,  when  their  own  lives,  and  the  fate  of  their 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  83 

wives,  their  children,  and  their  country,  hang  on  the  de 
cision  of  the  hour.  Then  words  have  lost  their  power, 
rhetoric  '  is  vain,  and  all  elaborate  oratory  contemptible. 
Even  genius  itself  then  feels  rebuked  and  subdued,  as  in 
the  presence  of  higher  qualities.  Then  patriotism  is  elo 
quent  ;  then  self-devotion  is  eloquent.  The  clear  concep 
tion,  outrunning  the  deductions  of  logic,  the  high  pur 
pose,  the  firm  resolve,  the  dauntless  spirit,  speaking  on 
the  tongue,  beaming  from  the  eye,  informing  every  feature, 
and  urging  the  whole  man  onward,  right  onward  to  his 
object — this,  this  is  eloquence  ;  or  rather  it  is  something 
greater  and  higher  than  all  eloquence,  it  is  action,  noble, 
sublime,  godlike  action. 

:>!>.  In  July,  1770,  the  controversy  had  passed  the  stage  of 
argument.  An  appeal  had  been  made  to  force,  and  oppos 
ing  armies  were  in  the  field.  Congress,  then,  was  to  de 
cide  whether  the  tie  which  had  so  long  bound  us  to  the 
parent  state  was  to  be  severed  at  once,  and  severed  for 
ever.  All  the  Colonies  had  signified  their  resolution  to 
abide  by  this  decision,  and  the  people  looked  for  it  with 
the  most  intense  anxiety.  And  surely,  fellow-citizens, 
never,  never  were  men  called  to  a  more  important  political 
deliberation.  .If  we  contemplate  it  from  the  point  where 
they  then  stood,  no  question  could  be  more  full  of  interest ; 
if  we  look  at  it  now,  and  judge  of  its  importance  by  its 
effects,  it  appears  of  still  greater  magnitude. 

40.  Let  us,   then,  bring  before  us  the  assembly  which 
was  about  to  decide  a  question   thus  big  with   the  fate  of 
empire.     Let  us  open  their  doors  and  look  in  upon  their 
deliberations.     Let  us  survey  the  anxious    and  careworn 
countenances,  let  us  hear  the  firm-toned  voices  of  this  band 
of  patriots. 

41.  Hancock  presides  over  the  solemn  sitting  ;  and  one 
of  those  not  yet  prepared  to  pronounce  for  absolute  inde- 

1  That  is,  verbal  ornamentation. 


84  .  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

pendence  is  on  the  floor,  and  is  urging  his  reasons  for  dis 
senting  from  the  Declaration. 

42.  "  Let  us  pause  !  This  step,  once  taken,  cannot  be 
retraced.  This  resolution,  once  passed,  will  cut  off  all  hope 
of  reconciliation.  If  success  attend  the  arms  of  England, 
we  shall  then  be  no  longer  Colonies,  with  charters  and  with 
privileges  ;  these  will  all  be  forfeited  by  this  act  ;  and  we 
shall  be  in  the  condition  of  other  conquered  people,  at  the 
mercy  of  the  conquerors.  For  ourselves,  we  may  be  ready 
to  run  the  hazard  ;  but  are  we  ready  to  carry  the  country 
to  that  length  ?  Is  success  so  probable  as  to  justify  it  ? 
Where  is  the  military,  where  the  naval  power,  by  which  we 
are  to  resist  the  whole  strength  of  the  arm  of  England  ? — 
for  she  will  exert  that  strength  to  the  utmost.  Can  we  rely 
on  the  constancy  and  perseverance  of  the  people  ?  or  will 
they  not  act  as  the  people  of  other  countries  have  acted,  and, 
wearied  with  a  long  war,  submit,  in  the  end,  to  a  worse  op 
pression  ?  While  we  stand  on  our  old  ground,  and  insist 
on  redress  of  grievances,  we  know  we  are  right,  and  are 
not  answerable  for  consequences.  Nothing,  then,  can  be 
imputed  to  us.  But  if  we  now  change  our  object,  carry 
our  pretensions  farther,  and  set  up  for  absolute  indepen 
dence,  we  shall  lose  the  sympathy  of  mankind.  We  shall 
no  longer  be  defending  what  we  possess,  but  struggling  for 
something  which  we  never  did  possess,  and  which  we  have 
solemnly  and  uniformly  disclaimed  all  intention  of  pursu 
ing  from  the  very  outset  of  the  troubles.  Abandoning 
thus  our  old  ground,  of  resistance  only  to  arbitrary  acts  of 
oppression,  the  nations  will  believe  the  whole  to  have  been 
mere  pretence,  and  they  will  look  on  us,  not  as  injured,  hut 
as  ambitious  subjects.  I  shudder  before  this  responsibility. 
It  will  be  on  us,  if,  relinquishing  the  ground  on  which  we 
have  stood  so  long,  and  stood  so  safely,  we  now  proclaim 
independence,  and  carry  on  the  war  for  that  object,  while 
these  cities  burn,  these  pleasant  fields  whiten  and  bleach 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  85 

with  the  bones  of  their  owners,  and  these  streams  run 
blood.  It  will  be  upon  us,  it  will  be  upon  us,  if,  failing  to 
maintain  this  unseasonable  and  ill-judged  Declaration,  a 
sterner  despotism,  maintained  by  military  power,  shall  be 
established  over  our  posterity,  when  we  ourselves,  given  up 
by  an  exhausted,  a  harassed,  a  misled  people,  shall  have 
expiated  our  rashness  and  atoned  for  our  presumption  on 
the  scaffold." 

43.  It  was  for   Mr.  Adams   to  reply  to  arguments  like 
these.     We  know  his  opinions,  and  we  know  his  character. 
He  would  commence  with  his  accustomed  directness  and 
earnestness. 

44.  "  Sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  give 
my  hand  and  my  heart  to  this  vote.     It  is  true,  indeed,  that 
in  the   beginning  we   aimed   not  at  independence.      But 
there's  a  Divinity  which  shapes  our  ends.     The  injustice 
of  England  has  driven  us  to  arms ;    and,  blinded  to  her 
own  interest  for  our  good,  she  has  obstinately  persisted, 
till  independence  is  now  within  our  grasp.     We  have  but 
to  reach  forth  to  it,  and  it  is  ours.     Why,  then,  should  we 
defer  the  Declaration  ?     Is  any  man  so  weak  as  now  to  hope 
for  a  reconciliation  with  England,  which  shall  leave  either 
safety  to  the  country  and  its  liberties,  or  safety  to  his  own 
life  and  his  own  honor  ?     Are  not  you,  sir,  who  sit  in  that 
chair,  is  not  he,  our  venerable  colleague  near  you,  are  you 
not  both  already  the  proscribed  and  predestined  objects  of 
punishment  and  of  vengeance  ?     Cut  off  from  all  hope  of 
royal  clemency,  what  are  you,  what  can  you  be,  while  the 
power  of  England  remains,  but  outlaws  ?     If  we  postpone 
independence,  do  we  mean  to  carry  on,  or  to  give  up,  the 
war  ?     Do  we  mean  to  submit  to  the  measures  of  Parlia 
ment,  Boston  Port  Bill,  and  all  ?     Do  we  mean  to  submit, 
and  consent  that  we  ourselves  shall  be  ground  to  powder, 
and  our  country  and  its  rights  trodden  down  in  the  dust  ? 
I  know  we  do  not  mean  to  submit.     We  never  shall  submit. 


86  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

Do  we  intend  to  violate  that  most  solemn  obligation  ever 
entered  into  by  men,  that  plighting,  before  God,  of  our 
sacred  honor  to  Washington,  when,  putting  him  forth  to 
incur  the  dangers  of  war,  as  well  as  the  political  hazards 
of  the  times,  we  promised  to  adhere  to  him,  in  every  ex 
tremity,  with  our  fortunes  and  our  lives  ?  I  know  there  is 
not  a  man  here  who  would  not  rather  see  a  general  con 
flagration  sweep  over  the  land,  or  an  earthquake  sink  it, 
than  one  jot  or  tittle  of  that  plighted  faith  fall  to  the 
ground.  For  myself,  having,  twelve  months  ago  in  this 
place,  moved  you  that  George  Washington  be  appointed 
commander  of  the  forces  raised  or  to  be  raised  for  defence 
of  American  liberty,  may  my  right  hand  forget  her  cun 
ning,  and  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  if  1 
hesitate  or  waver  in  the  support  I  give  him. 

45.  "  The  war,  then,  must  go  on.  We  must  fight  it 
through.  And  if  the  war  must  go  on,  why  put  off  longer 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  ?  That  measure  will 
strengthen  us.  It  will  give  us  character  abroad.  The 
nations  will  then  treat  with  us.  which  they  never  can  do 
while  we  acknowledge  ourselves  subjects,  in  arms  against 
our  sovereign.  Xay,  I  maintain  that  England  herself  will 
sooner  treat  for  peace  with  us  on  the  footing  of  indepen 
dence,  than  consent,  by  repealing  her  acts,  to  acknowledge 
that  her  whole  conduct  towards  us  has  been  a  course  of 
injustice  and  oppression.  Her  pride  will  be  less  wounded 
by  submitting  to  that  course  of  things  which  now  predes 
tinates  our  independence  than  by  yielding  the  points  in 
controversy  to  her  rebellious  subjects.  The  former  she 
would  regard  as  the  result  of  fortune  ;  the  latter  she  would 
feel  as  her  own  deep  disgrace.  Why,  then,  why,  then,  sir, 
do  we  not  as  soon  as  possible  change  this  from  a  civil  to  a 
national  war?  And  since  we  must  fight  it  through,  why 
not  put  ourselves  in  a  state  to  enjoy  all  the  benefits  of 
victory,  if  we  gain  the  victory  ? 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSOJS  87 

4G.  "  If  \ve  fail  it  can  be  no  worse  for  us.  But  we  shall 
not  fail.  The  cause  will  raise  up  armies  ;  the  cause  will 
create  navies.  The  people,  the  people,  if  we  are  true  to 
them,  will  carry  us,  and  will  carry  themselves,  gloriously, 
through  this  struggle.  I  care  not  how  fickle  other  people 
have  been  found.  I  know  the  people  of  these  Colonies, 
and  I  know  that  resistance  to  British  aggression  is  deep 
and  settled  in  their  hearts  and  cannot  be  eradicated.  Every 
Colony,  indeed,  has  expressed  its  willingness  to  follow,  if 
we  but  take  the  lead.  Sir,  the  Declaration  will  inspire  the 
people  with  increased  courage.  Instead  of  a  long  and 
bloody  war  for  the  restoration  of  privileges,  for  redress  of 
grievances,  for  chartered  immunities,  held  under  a  British 
king,  set  before  them  the  glorious  object  of  entire  inde 
pendence,  and  it  will  breathe  into  them  anew  the  breath 
of  life.  Read  this  Declaration  at  the  head  of  the  army  ; 
every  sword  will  be  drawn  from  its  scabbard,  and  the 
solemn  vow  uttered  to  maintain  it,  or  to  perish  on  the  bed 
of  honor.  Publish  it  from  the  pulpit ;  religion  will  ap 
prove  it.  and  the  love  of  religious  liberty  will  cling  round 
it.  resolved  to  stand  with  it,  or  fall  with  it.  Send  it  to  the 
public  halls  ;  proclaim  it  there  ;  let  them  hear  it  who  heard 
the  first  roar  of  the  enemy's  cannon  ;  let  them  see  it  who 
saw  their  brothers  and  their  sons  fall  on  the  field  of  Bunker 
Hill,  and  in  the  streets  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  and  the 
very  walls  will  cry  out  in  its  support. 

4T.  "Sir.  I  know  the  uncertainty  of  human  affairs,  but 
I  see.  I  see  clearly,  through  this  day's  business.  You  and 
I.  indeed,  may  rue  it.  We  may  not  live  to  the  time  when 
this  Declaration  shall  be  made  good.  We  may  die  ;  die  col 
onists  :  die  slaves  ;  die,  it  may  be,  ignominiously  and  on 
the  scaffold.  Be  it  so.  Be  it  so.  If  it  be  the  pleasure  of 
Heaven  that  my  country  shall  require  the  poor  offering  of 
my  life,  the  victim  shall  be  ready  at  the  appointed  hour 
of  sacrifice,  come  when  that  hour  may.  But  while  I  do 


88  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

live,  let  me  have  a  country,  or  at  least  the  hope  of  a  coun 
try,  and  that  a  free  country. 

48.  "  But  whatever  may  be  our  fate,  be  assured,  be  as 
sured  that  this  Declaration  will  stand.     It  may  cost  treas 
ure,  and  it  may  cost  blood  ;  but  it  will  stand,  and  it  will 
richly  compensate  for  both.     Through  the  thick  gloom  of 
the  present  I  see  the  brightness  of  the  future,  as  the  sun 
in  heaven.     We  shall  make  this  a  glorious,  an  immortal 
day.     When  we  are  in  our  graves,  our  children  will  honor 
it.     They  will  celebrate  it  with  thanksgiving,  with  festivity, 
with  bonfires   and   illuminations.     On    its   annual  return 
they  will  shed  tears,   copious,  gushing  tears,  not  of  sub 
jection  and  slavery,  not  of  agony  and  distress,  but  of  ex 
ultation,  of  gratitude,  and  of  joy.     Sir,  before  God,  I  be 
lieve  the  hour  is  come.     My  judgment  approves  this  meas 
ure,  and  my  whole  heart  is  in  it.     All  that  I  have,  and  all 
that  I  am,  and  all  that  I  hope,  in  this  life,  I  am  now  ready 
here  to  stake  upon  it ;  and  I  leave  off  as  I  begun,  that  live 
or  die,  survive  or  perish,  I  am  for  the  Declaration.     It  is 
my  living  sentiment,  and,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  it  shall 
be  my  dying  sentiment,  Independence  now,  and  Indepen 
dence  forever." 

49.  And  so  that  day  shall  be  honored,  illustrious  prophet 
and  patriot  !  so  that  day  shall  be  honored,  and  as  often  as 
it  returns,  thy  renown  shall  come  along  with  it,  and   the 
glory  of  thy  life,  like  the  day  of  thy  death,  shall   not   fail 
from  the  remembrance  of  men. 

V.  50.  It  would  be  unjust,  fellow-citizens,  on  this  oc 
casion,  while  we  express  our  veneration  for  him  who  is  the 
immediate  subject  of  these  remarks,  were  we  to  omit  a 
most  respectful,  affectionate,  and  grateful  mention  of  those 
other  great  men,  his  colleagues,  who  stood  with  him,  and 
with  the  same  spirit,  the  same  devotion,  took  part  in  the 
interesting  transaction.  Hancock,  the  proscribed  Han- 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  89 

cock,  exiled  from  his  home  by  a  military  governor,  cut  off 
by  proclamation  from  the  mercy  of  the  crown, — Heaven 
reserved  for  him  the  distinguished  honor  of  putting  this 
great  question  to  the  vote,  and  of  writing  his  own  name 
first,  and  most  conspicuously,  on  that  parchment  which 
spoke  defiance  to  the  power  of  the  crown  of  England. 
There,  too,  is  the  name  of  that  other  proscribed  patriot, 
Samuel  Adams,  a  man  who  hungered  and  thirsted  for  the 
independence  of  his  country  ;  who  thought  the  Declaration 
halted  and  lingered,  being  himself  not  only  ready,  but 
eager,  for  it,  long  before  it  was  proposed  ;  a  man  of  the 
deepest  sagacity,  the  clearest  foresight,  and  the  profouud- 
est  judgment  in  men.  And  there  is  Gerry,  himself  among 
the  earliest  and  the  foremost  of  the  patriots,  found,  when 
the  battle  of  Lexington  summoned  them  to  common  coun 
sels,  by  the  side  of  Warren  ;  a  man  who  lived  to  serve  his 
country  at  home  and  abroad,  and  to  die  in  the  second 
place  in  the  government.  There,  too,  is  the  inflexible, 
the  upright,  the  Spartan  character,  Robert  Treat  Paine. 
He  also  lived  to  serve  his  country  through  the  struggle, 
and  then  withdrew  from  her  councils,  only  that  he  might 
give  his  labors  and  his  life  to  his  native  State  in  another 
relation.  These  names,  fellow-citizens,  are  the  treasures 
of  the  Commonwealth  ;  and  they  are  treasures  which  grow 
brighter  by  time. 

VI.  .">!.  It  is  now  necessary  to  resume  the  narrative,  and 
to  finish  with  great  brevity  the  notice  of  the  lives  of  those 
whose  virtues  and  services  we  have  met  to  commemorate. 

o2.  Mr.  Adams  remained  in  Congress  from  its  first  meet 
ing  till  November,  1777,  when  he  was  appointed  Minister 
to  France.  He  proceeded  on  that  service  in  the  February 
following,  embarking  in  the  frigate  Boston,  from  the  shore 
of  his  native  town,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  AVollaston.  The 
year  following  he  was  appointed  commissioner  to  treat  of 


90  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

peace  with  England.  Eeturning  to  the  United  States,  he 
was  a  delegate  from  Braintree  in  the  Convention  for  fram 
ing  the  Constitution  of  this  Commonwealth,  in  1780.  At 
the  latter  end  of  the  same  year  he  again  went  abroad  in 
the  diplomatic  service  of  the  country,  and  was  employed  at 
various  courts,  and  occupied  with  various  negotiations,  un 
til  1788.  The  particulars  of  these  interesting  and  im 
portant  services  this  occasion  does  not  allow  time  to  relate. 
In  1782  he  concluded  our  first  treaty  with  Holland.  His 
negotiations  with  that  republic,  his  efforts  to  persuade  the 
States-General  to  recognize  our  independence,  his  incessant 
and  indefatigable  exertions  to  represent  the  American  cause 
favorably  on  the  Continent,  and  to  counteract  the  designs 
of  its  enemies,  open  and  secret,  and  his  successful  under 
taking  to  obtain  loans,  on  the  credit  of  a  nation  yet  new 
and  unknown,  are  among  his  most  arduous,  most  useful, 
most  honorable  services.  It  was  his  fortune  to  bear  a  part 
in  the  negotiation  for  peace  with  England,  and  in  some- 
tiling  more  than  six  years  from  the  Declaration  which  he 
had  so  strenuously  supported,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  see 
ing  the  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  crown  subscribe  his 
name  to  the  instrument  which  declared  that  his  "  Britannic 
Majesty  acknowledged  the  United  States  to  be  free,  sover 
eign,  and  independent."  In  these  important  transactions, 
Mr.  Adams's  conduct  received  the  marked  approbation  of 
Congress  and  of  the  country. 

53.  While  abroad,  in  1787,  he  published  his  ''Defence 
of  the  American  Constitutions  ; "  a  work  of  merit  and 
ability,  though  composed  with  haste,  on  the  spur  of  a  par 
ticular  occasion,  in  the  midst  of  other  occupations,  and  un 
der  circumstances  not  admitting  of  careful  revision.  The 
immediate  object  of  the  work  was  to  counteract  the  weight 
of  opinions  advanced  by  several  popular  European  writers 
of  that  day,  M.  Turgot,  the  Abbe  de  Mably,  and  Dr.  Price, 
at  a  time  when  the  people  of  the  United  States  were  em- 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  91 

ployed  in  forming  and  revising  their  systems  of  govern 
ment. 

54.  Returning  to  the  United  States  in  1788,  he  found 
the  new  government  about  going  into  operation,  and  was 
himself  elected  the  first  Vice-President,  a  situation  which 
he  filled  with  reputation  for  eight  years,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  he  was  raised  to  the  Presidential  chair,  as  imme 
diate  successor  to  the  immortal  Washington.  In  this  high 
station  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  after  a  memora 
ble  controversy  between  their  respective  friends,  in  1801  ; 
and  from  that  period  his  manner  of  life  has  been  known  to 
all  who  hear  me.  He  has  lived,  for  five-and-twenty  years, 
with  every  enjoyment  that  could  render  old  age  happy. 
Xot  inattentive  to  the  occurrences  of  the  times,  political 
cares  have  yet  not  materially,  or  for  any  long  time,  dis 
turbed  his  repose.  In  1820  he  acted  as  elector  of  Presi 
dent  and  Vice-President,  and  in  the  same  year  we  saw  him, 
then  at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  a  member  of  the  Conven 
tion  of  this  commonwealth  called  to  revise  the  Constitution. 
Forty  years  before,  he  had  been  one  of  those  who  formed 
that  Constitution  ;  and  he  had  now  the  pleasure  of  witness 
ing  that  there  was  little  which  the  people  desired  to  change. 
Possessing  all  his  faculties  to  the  end  of  his  long  life,  with 
an  unabated  love  of  reading  and  contemplation,  in  the  cen 
tre  of  interesting  circles  of  friendship  and  affection,  he  was 
blessed  in  his  retirement  with  whatever  of  repose  and  felic 
ity  the  condition  of  man  allows,  lie  had,  also,  other  en 
joyments,  lie  saw  around  him  that  prosperity  and  general 
happiness  which  had  been  the  object  of  his  public  cares  and 
labors.  No  man  ever  beheld  more  clearly,  and  for  a  longer 
time,  the  great  and  beneficial  effects  of  the  services  ren 
dered  by  himself  to  his  country.  That  liberty  which  he  so 
early  defended,  that  independence  of  which  he  was  so  able 
;m  advocate  and  supporter,  he  saw.  we  trust,  firmly  and  se 
en  ivly  established.  The  population  of  the  country  thick- 


92  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

ened  around  him  faster,  and  extended  wider,  than  his  own 
sanguine  predictions  had  anticipated  ;  and  the  wealth,  re 
spectability,  and  power  of  the  nation  sprang  up  to  a  mag 
nitude  which  it  is  quite  impossible  he  could  have  expected 
to  witness  in  his  day.  He  lived  also  to  behold  those  prin 
ciples  of  civil  freedom  which  had  been  developed,  estab 
lished,  and  practically  applied  in  America,  attract  attention, 
command  respect,  and  awaken  imitation,  in  other  regions 
of  the  globe ;  and  well  might,  and  well  did,  he  exclaim, 
"  Where  will  the  consequences  of  the  American  Revolution 
end  ?  " 

55.  If  anything  yet  remain  to  fill  this  cup  of  happiness, 
let  it  be  added  that  he  lived  to  see  a  great  and  intelligent 
people  bestow  the  highest  honor  in  their  gift  where  he  had 
bestowed  his  own  kindest  parental  affections  and  lodged  his 
fondest  hopes.1  Thus  honored  in  life,  thus  happy  at  death, 
he  saw  the  Jubilee,  and  he  died  ;  and  with  the  last  prayers 
which  trembled  on  his  lips  was  the  fervent  supplication  for 
his  country,  "  Independence  forever  !  " 

VII.  50.  Mr.  Jefferson,  having  been  occupied  in  the  years 
1778  and  1779  in  the  important  service  of  revising  the 
laws  of  Virginia,  was  elected  Governor  of  that  State,  as 
successor  to  Patrick  Henry,  and  held  the  situation  when 
the  State  was  invaded  by  the  British  arms.  In  17«Sl  he 
published  his  "  Notes  on  Virginia,"  a  work  which  attracted 
attention  in  Europe  as  well  as  America,  dispelled  many 
misconceptions  respecting  this  continent,  and  gave  its 
author  a  place  among  men  distinguished  for  science.  In 
November,  1783,  he  again  took  his  seat  in  the  Continen 
tal  Congress,  but  in  the  May  following  was  appointed 
Minister  Plenipotentiary,  to  act  abroad,  in  the  negotiation 
of  commercial  treaties,  with  Dr.  Franklin  and  Mr.  Adams. 

1  John  Quincy  Adams  had  been  inaugurated  President  the  preceding 
year. 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  93 

He  proceeded  to  France  in  execution  of  this  mission,  em 
barking  at  Boston  ;  and  that  was  the  only  occasion  on 
which  lie  ever  visited  this  place.  In  1785  he  was  appointed 
Minister  to  France,  the  duties  of  which  situation  he  con 
tinued  to  perform  until  October,  1789,  when  he  obtained 
leave  to  retire,  just  on  the  eve  of  that  tremendous  revo 
lution  which  has  so  much  agitated  the  world  in  our  times. 
Mi-.  Jefferson's  discharge  of  his  diplomatic  duties  was 
marked  by  great  ability,  diligence,  and  patriotism  ;  and 
while  he  resided  at  Paris,  in  one  of  the  most  interesting 
periods,  his  character  for  intelligence,  his  love  of  knowl 
edge  and  of  the  society  of  learned  men,  distinguished  him 
in  the  highest  circles  of  the  French  capital.  No  court  in 
Kurope  had  at  that  time  in  Paris  a  representative  com 
manding  or  enjoying  higher  regard,  for  political  knowl 
edge  or  for  general  attainments,  than  the  minister  of  this 
then  infant  republic.  Immediately  on  his  return  to  his 
native  country,  at  the  organization  of  the  government 
under  the  present  Constitution,  his  talents  and  experience 
recommended  him  to  President  Washington  for  the  first 
office  in  his  gift.  lie  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  De 
partment  of  State.  In  this  situation,  also,  he  manifested 
conspicuous  ability.  His  correspondence  with  the  minis 
ters  of  other  powers  residing  here  and  his  instructions  to 
our  own  diplomatic  agents  abroad  are  among  our  ablest 
state  papers.  A  thorough  knowledge  of  the  laws  and 
usages  of  nations,  perfect  acquaintance  with  the  imme 
diate  subject  before  him,  great  felicity,  and  still  greater  fa 
cility,  in  writing  show  themselves  in  whatever  effort  his 
official  situation  called  on  him  to  make.  It  is  believed  by 
competent  judges  that  the  diplomatic  intercourse  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  from  the  first  meeting 
of  the  Continental  Congress  in  1774  to  the  present  time, 
taken  together,  would  not  suffer,  in  respect  to  the  talent 
with  which  it  has  been  conducted,  by  comparison  with 


94  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

anything  which  other  and  older  governments  can  produce  ; 
and  to  the  attainment  of  this  respectability  and  distinction 
Mr.  Jefferson  has  contributed  his  full  part. 

57.  On  the  retirement  of  General  Washington  from  the 
Presidency,  and  the  election  of  Mr.  Adams  to  that  office 
in  1797,  he  was  chosen  Vice-President.     While  presiding 
in  this  capacity  over  the  deliberations  of  the  Senate,  he 
compiled  and  published  a  "Manual of  Parliamentary  Prac 
tice,"  a  work  of  more  labor  and  more  merit  than  is  indi 
cated  by  its  size.     It  is  now  received  as  the  general  stand 
ard  by  which  proceedings  are  regulated,  not  only  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress,  but   in  most  of  the  other  legislative 
bodies  in  the  country.     In  1801  he  was  elected  President, 
in  opposition  to   Mr.  Adams,  and  reflected   in   1805,  by  a 
vote  approaching  towards  unanimity. 

58.  From  the  time  of  his  final  retirement  from  public 
life,  in  1808,  Mr.  Jefferson  lived  as  became  a  wise   man. 
Surrounded"  by  affectionate  friends,  his  ardor  in   the  pur 
suit  of  knowledge  undiminished,  with   uncommon  health 
and   unbroken  spirits,   he  was  able  to  enjoy    largely  the 
rational   pleasures  of  life,  and  to  partake  in  that  public 
prosperity  which  he  had  so  much  contributed  to  produce. 
His  kindness  and  hospitality,  the  charm  of  his  conversa 
tion,  the  ease  of  his  manners,  the  extent  of  his  acquire 
ments,   and,   especially,   the  full    store    of   Revolutionary 
incidents  which  he  had    treasured    in   his  memory,   and 
which  he  knew  when  and  how  to  dispense,  rendered   his 
abode  in  a  high  degree  attractive  to  his  admiring  country 
men,  while  his  high  public  and  scientific  character  drew 
towards  him  every  intelligent  and  educated  traveller  from 
abroad.      Both   Mr.   Adams    and    Mr.   Jefferson    had  the 
pleasure  of  knowing  that  the  respect  which  they  so  largely 
received  was  not  paid  to  their  official  stations.     They  were 
not  men  made  great  by  office  ;  but  great  men,  on   whom 
the  country  for  its  own  benefit  had  conferred  office.     There 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  95 

was  that  in  them  which  office  did  not  give,  and  which  the 
relinquish ment  of  office  did  not,  and  could  not,  take  away. 
In  their  retirement,  in  the  midst  of  their  fellow-citizens, 
themselves  private  citizens,  they  enjoyed  as  high  regard 
and  esteem  as  when  filling  the  most  important  places  of 
public  trust. 

59.  There  remained  to  Mr.  Jefferson  yet  one  other 
work  of  patriotism  and  beneficence,  the  establishment  of  a 
university  in  his  native  State.  To  this  object  he  devoted 
years  of  incessant  and  anxious  attention,  and  by  the  en 
lightened  liberality  of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  and  the 
cooperation  of  other  able  and  zealous  friends,  he  lived  to 
see  it  accomplished.  May  all  success  attend  this  infant 
seminary  ;  and  may  those  who  enjoy  its  advantages,  as 
often  as  their  eyes  shall  rest  on  the  neighboring  height, 
recollect  what  they  owe  to  their  disinterested  and  inde 
fatigable  benefactor  ;  and  may  letters  honor  him  who  thus 
labored  in  the  cause  of  letters  ! 

(50.  Thus  useful,  and  thus  respected,  passed  the  old 
age  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  Hut  time  was  on  its  ever-cease 
less  wing,  and  was  now  bringing  the  last  hour  of  this 
illustrious  man.  He  saw  its  approach  with  undisturbed 
serenity.  He  counted  the  moments  as  they  passed,  and 
beheld  that  his  last  sands  were  falling.  That  day,  too, 
was  at  hand  which  he  had  helped  to  make  immortal.  One 
wish,  one  hope,  if  it  were  not  presumptuous,  beat  in  his 
fainting  breast.  Could  it  be  so,  might  it  please  God,  he 
would  desire  once  more  to  see  the  sun,  once  more  to  look 
abroad  on  the  scene  around  him.  on  the  great  day  of  liberty. 
Heaven,  in  its  mercy,  fulfilled  that  prayer.  He  saw  that 
sun,  he  enjoyed  its  sacred  light,  he  thanked  God  for  this 
mercy,  and  bowed  his  aged  head  to  the  grave.  "Felix, 
non  vitae  tantum  claritate,  sed  etiam  opportunitate  mortis."1 

1  "  Fortunate  not  only  in  the  splendor  of  his  life,  but  in  the  time 
liness  of  his  death." — Tacitus,  Agricda,  45. 


96  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

61,  The  last  public  labor  of  Mr.  Jefferson  naturally  sug 
gests  the  expression  of  the  high  praise  which  is  due,  both 
to  him  and  to  Mr.  Adams,  for  their  uniform  and  zealous 
attachment    to    learning,    and    to   the    cause    of    general 
knowledge.     Of  the  advantages  of  learning,    indeed,  and 
of   literary  accomplishments,  their    own    characters  were 
striking  recommendations   and    illustrations.     They  were 
scholars,  ripe  and  good  scholars  ;  widely  acquainted  with 
ancient,  as  well   as  modern  literature,  and   not  altogether 
uninstructed  in  the  deeper  sciences.     Their  acquirements, 
doubtless,  were  different,  and  so  were  the  particular  ob 
jects  of  their  literary  pursuits  ;  as  their  tastes  and  char 
acters,  in  these  respects,  differed  like  those  of  other  men. 
Being,  also,  men   of  busy  lives,  with  great  objects  requir 
ing  action  constantly  before  them,  their  attainments   in 
letters  did  not  become  showy  or  obtrusive.     Yet  I  would 
hazard  the  opinion,  that  if  we  could  now  ascertain  all  the 
causes  which  gave  them  eminence  and   distinction   in    the 
midst  of  the  great  men  with  whom  they  acted,  we  should 
find  not  among  the  least  their  early  acquisitions  in  litera 
ture,  the  resources  which   it  furnished,  the  promptitude 
and  facility  which  it  communicated,  and  the  wide  field  it 
opened  for  analogy  and  illustration  ;  giving  them  thus,  on 
every  subject,  a  larger  view  and  a  broader  range,  as  well 
for  discussion  as  for  the  government  of  their  own  conduct. 

62.  Literature  sometimes  disgusts,  and  pretension  to  it 
much  oftener  disgusts,  by  appearing  to  hang  loosely   on 
the  character,  like  something  foreign  or  extraneous,  not  a 
part,   but   an   ill-adjusted   appendage  ;  or  by  seeming    to 
overload  and  weigh  it  down  by  its  unsightly  bulk,  like  the 
productions  of  bad   taste  in  architecture,  where  there  is 
massy  and  cumbrous  ornament  without  strength  or  solid 
ity  of  column.     This  has  exposed  learning,  and  especially 
classical  learning,    to   reproach.      Men    have   seen    that    it 
might   exist   without   mental  superiority,    without    vigor. 


ADAMK  AND  JEFFERSON  97 

without  good  taste,  and  without  utility.  But  in  such 
cases  classical  learning  has  only  not  inspired  natural  talent ; 
or,  at  most,  it  has  but  made  original  feebleness  of  intel 
lect,  and  natural  bhmtness  of  perception,  something  more 
conspicuous.  The  question,  after  all,  if  it  be  a  question, 
is,  whether  literature,  ancient  as  well  as  modern,  does  not 
assist  a  good  understanding,  improve  natural  good  taste, 
add  polished  armor  to  native  strength,  and  render  its 
possessor,  not  only  more  capable  of  deriving  private 
happiness  from  contemplation  and  reflection,  but  more 
accomplished  also  for  action  in  the  affairs  of  life,  and 
especially  for  public  action.  Those  whose  memories  we 
now  honor  were  learned  men  ;  but  their  learning  was  kept 
in  its  proper  place,  and  made  subservient  to  the  uses  and 
objects  of  life.  They  were  scholars,  not  common  nor 
superficial ;  but  their  scholarship  was  so  in  keeping  with 
their  character,  so  blended  and  inwrought,  that  careless 
observers,  or  bad  judges,  not  seeing  an  ostentatious  dis 
play  of  it,  might  infer  that  it  did  not  exist ;  forgetting,  or 
not  knowing,  that  classical  learning  in  men  who  act  in 
conspicuous  public  stations,  perform  duties  which  exer 
cise  the  faculty  of  writing,  or  address  popular,  delibera 
tive,  or  judicial  bodies,  is  often  felt  where  it  is  little  seen, 
and  sometimes  felt  more  effectually  because  it  is  not  seen 
at  all. 

63.  But  the  cause  of  knowledge,  in  a  more  enlarged 
sense,  the  cause  of  general  knowledge  and  of  popular  edu 
cation,  had  no  warmer  friends  nor  more  powerful  advo 
cates  than  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Jefferson.  On  this  foun 
dation  they  knew  the  whole  republican  system  rested  ;  and 
this  great  and  all-important  truth  they  strove  to  impress, 
by  all  the  means  in  their  power.  In  the  early  publication 
already  referred  to,  Mr.  Adams  expresses  the  strong  and 
just  sentiment  that  the  education  of  the  poor  is  more  im 
portant,  even  to  the  rich  themselves,  than  all  their  own 
7 


98  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

riches.  On  this  great  truth,  indeed,  is  founded  that  unri 
valled,  that  invaluable  political  and  moral  institution,  our 
own  blessing  and  the  glory  of  our  fathers,  the  New  Eng 
land  system  of  free  schools. 

64.  As  the  promotion  of  knowledge  had  been  the  object 
of  their  regard  through  life,  so  these  great  men  made  it 
the  subject  of  their  testamentary  bounty.  Mr.  Jefferson 
is  understood  to  have  bequeathed  his  library  to  the  Uni 
versity  of  Virginia,  and  that  of  Mr.  Adams  is  bestowed  on 
the  inhabitants  of  Quincy. 

VIII.  65.  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Jefferson,  fellow-citizens, 
were  successively  Presidents  of  the  United  States.  The 
comparative  merits  of  their  respective  administrations  for 
a  long  time  agitated  and  divided  public  opinion.  They 
were  rivals,  each  supported  by  numerous  and  powerful 
portions  of  the  people,  for  the  highest  office.  This  con 
test,  partly  the  cause  and  partly  the  consequence  of  the 
long  existence  of  two  great  political  parties  in  the  coun 
try,  is  now  part  of  the  history  of  our  government.  We 
may  naturally  regret  that  anything  should  have  occurred 
to  create  difference  and  discord  between  those  who  had 
acted  harmoniously  and  efficiently  in  the  great  concerns  of 
the  Revolution.  But  this  is  not  the  time,  nor  this  the  oc 
casion,  for  entering  into  the  grounds  of  that  difference,  or 
for  attempting  to  discuss  the  merits  of  the  questions  which 
it  involves.  As  practical  questions  they  were  canvassed 
when  the  measures  which  they  regarded  were  acted  on  and 
adopted  ;  and  as  belonging  to  history,  the  time  has  not 
come  for  their  consideration. 

66.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  wonderful,  that,  when  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  first  went  into  operation, 
different  opinions  should  be  entertained  as  to  the  extent  of 
the  powers  conferred  by  it.  Here  was  a  natural  source  of 
diversity  of  sentiment.  It  is  still  less  wonderful,  that  that 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  99 

event,1  nearly  contemporary  with  our  government  under 
the  present  Constitution,  which  so  entirely  shocked  all 
Europe,  and  disturbed  our  relations  with  her  leading 
powers,  should  be  thought,  by  different  men,  to  have  dif 
ferent  bearings  on  our  own  prosperity  ;  and  that  the  early 
measures  adopted  by  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
in  consequence  of  this  new  state  of  things,  should  be  seen 
in  opposite  lights.  It  is  for  the  future  historian,  when 
what  now  remains  of  prejudice  and  misconception  shall 
have  passed  away,  to  state  these  different  opinions,  and 
pronounce  impartial  judgment.  In  the  meantime,  all 
good  men  rejoice,  and  well  may  rejoice,  that  the  sharpest 
differences  sprung  out  of  measures  which,  whether  right  or 
wrong,  have  ceased  with  the  exigencies  that  gave  them 
birth,  and  have  left  no  permanent  effect  either  on  the 
Constitution  or  on  the  general  prosperity  of  the  country. 
This  remark,  I  am  aware,  may  be  supposed  to  have  its  ex 
ception  in  one  measure,  the  alteration  of  the  Constitution  - 
as  to  the  mode  of  choosing  President ;  but  it  is  true  in  its 
general  application.  Thus  the  course  of  policy  pursued 
towards  France  in  1798,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  measures 
of  commercial  restriction  commenced  in  1807,  on  the  other, 
both  subjects  of  warm  and  severe  opposition,  have  passed 
away  and  left  nothing  behind  them.  They  were  tempo 
rary,  and  whether  wise  or  unwise,  their  consequences  were 
limited  to  their  respective  occasions.  It  is  equally  clear, 
at  the  same  time,  and  it  is  equally  gratifying,  that  those 
measures  of  both  administrations  which  were  of  durable 
importance,  and  which  drew  after  them  momentous  and 
long  remaining  consequences,  have  received  general  appro 
bation.  Such  was  the  organization,  or  rather  the  creation, 
of  the  navy,  in  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams  ;  such 
the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  in  that  of  Mr.  Jefferson. 

1  The  French  Revolution. 

5  Made  by  the  twelfth  Article  uf.  Amendment. 


100  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

The  country,  it  may  safely  be  added,  is  not  likely  to  be 
willing  either  to  approve,  or  to  reprobate,  indiscriminately, 
and  in  the  aggregate,  all  the  measures  of  either,  or  of  any, 
administration.  The  dictate  of  reason  and  of  justice  is, 
that,  holding  each  one  his  own  sentiments  on  the  points 
of  difference,  we  imitate  the  great  men  themselves  in  the 
forbearance  and  moderation  which  they  have  cherished, 
and  in  the  mutual  respect  and  kindness  which  they  have 
been  so  much  inclined  to  feel  and  to  reciprocate. 

67.  No  men,  fellow-citizens,  ever  served  their  country 
with   more   entire  exemption    from   every   imputation    of 
selfish  and  mercenary  motives  than  those  to  whose  memory 
we  are  paying  these  proofs  of  respect.     A  suspicion  of  any 
disposition  to  enrich  themselves,  or  to  profit  by  their  public 
employments,  never  rested  on  either.      No  sordid  motive 
approached  them.      The  inheritance  which  they  have  left 
to  their  children  is  of  their  character  and  their  fame. 

68.  Fellow-citizens,  I  will  detain  you  no  longer  by  this 
faint  and  feeble  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  illustrious 
dead.     Even  in  other  hands,  adequate  justice  could  not  be 
done  to  them,  within  the  limits  of  this  occasion.     Their 
highest,  their  best  praise,  is  your  deep  conviction  of  their 
merits,  your  affectionate    gratitude  for   their   labors   and 
their  services.     It  is  not  my  voice,  it  is  this  cessation  of 
ordinary    pursuits,    this   arresting   of  all    attention,   these 
solemn  ceremonies,  and  this  crowded  house,  which  speak 
their  eulogy.     Their  fame,  indeed,  is  safe.     That  is  now 
treasured  up  beyond  the  reach  of  accident.     Although  no 
sculptured  marble  should  rise  to  their  memory,   nor  en 
graved  stone  bear  record    of   their   deeds,    yet    will    their 
remembrance   be   as   lasting   as    the   land    they    honored. 
Marble  columns  may,  indeed,  moulder  into  dust,  time  may 
erase  all  impress  from  the  crumbling  stone,  but  their  fame 
remains  ;  for    with   American    Libertv    it    rose,    and   with 
American   Liberty   only  can   it  perish.      It    was    the   last 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON  101 

swelling  peal  of  yonder  choir,  "Their  bodies  are  buried 
in  peace,  but  their  name  liveth  evermore."  I  catch  that 
solemn  song,  I  echo  that  lofty  strain  of  funeral  triumph, 
"  Their  name  liveth  evermore." 

IX.  69.   Of  the  illustrious  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  there  now  remains  only  Charles  Carroll.     IIe( 
seems  an  aged  oak,  standing  alone  on  the  plain,  which  time 
has  spared  a  little  longer  after  all  its  contemporaries   have 
been  levelled  with  the  dust.     Venerable  object !  we  delight 
to  gather  round  its  trunk,  while  yet  it  stands,  and  to  dwell 
beneath  its  shadow.     Sole  survivor  of  an  assembly  of  as 
great  men  as  the  world  has  witnessed,  in  a  transaction  one 
of  the  most  important  that  history  records,  what  thoughts, 
what  interesting  reflections,    must   fill   his   elevated   and 
devout  soul  !     If  he  dwell  on  the  past,  how  touching  its 
recollections ;  if  he  survey  the  present,  how  happy,  how 
joyous,  how  full  of   the  fruition  of  that  hope  which  his 
ardent  patriotism  indulged  ;  if  he  glance  at  the  future,  how 
does  the  prospect  of    his    country's   advancement   almost 
bewilder  his   weakened    conception  !       Fortunate,    distin 
guished  patriot !     Interesting  relic  of  the  past !     Let  him 
know  that,  while  we  honor  the  dead,  we  do  not  forget  the 
living  ;  and  that  there  is  not  a  heart  here  which  does  not 
fervently  pray  that  Heaven  may  keep  him  yet  back  from 
the  society  of  his  companions. 

X.  70.   And  now,  fellow-citizens,  let  us  not  retire  from 
this  occasion  without  a  deep  and  solemn  conviction  of  the 
duties  which  have  devolved  upon  us.    This  lovely  land,  this 
glorious  liberty,  these  benign  institutions,  the  dear  purchase 
of  our  fathers,  are  ours  ;  ours  to  enjoy,  ours  to  preserve, 
ours  to  transmit.     Generations  past  and  generations  to  come 
hold  us  responsible  for  this  sacred    trust.     Our   fathers, 
from    behind,  admonish    us    with    their   anxious  paternal 


102  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

voices  ;  posterity  calls  out  to  us  from  the  bosom  of  the 
future  ;  the  world  turns  hither  its  solicitous  eyes;  all,  all 
conjure  us  to  act  wisely,  and  faithfully,  in  the  relation 
which  we  sustain.  We  can  never,  indeed,  pay  the  debt 
which  is  upon  us  ;  but  by  virtue,  by  morality,  by  religion, 
by  the  cultivation  of  every  good  principle  and  every  good 
habit,  we  may  hope  to  enjoy  the  blessing,  through  our  day, 
and  to  leave  it  unimpaired  to  our  children.  Let  us  feel 
deeply  how  much  of  what  we  are  and  of  what  we  possess 
we  owe  to  this  liberty,  and  to  these  institutions  of  govern 
ment.  Nature  has,  indeed,  given  us  a  soil  which  yields 
bounteously  to  the  hand  of  industry,  the  mighty  and  fruit 
ful  ocean  is  before  us,  and  the  skies  over  our  heads  shed 
health  and  vigor.  But  what  are  lands  and  seas  and  skies 
to  civilized  man,  without  society,  without  knowledge,  with 
out  morals,  without  religious  culture  ;  and  how  can  these 
be  enjoyed,  in  all  their  extent  and  all  their  excellence,  but 
under  the  protection  of  wise  institutions  and  a  free  gov 
ernment  ?  Fellow-citizens,  there  is  not  one  of  us,  there  is 
not  one  of  us  here  present,  who  does  not,  at  this  moment, 
and  at  every  moment,  experience,  in  his  own  condition,  and 
in  the  condition  of  those  most  near  and  dear  to  him,  the 
influence  and  the  benefits  of  this  liberty  and  these  institu 
tions.  Let  us  then  acknowledge  the  blessing,  let  us  feel  it 
deeply  and  powerfully,  let  us  cherish  a  strong  affection  for 
it,  and  resolve  to  maintain  and  perpetuate  it.  The  blood 
of  our  fathers,  let  it  not  have  been  shed  in  vain  ;  the  great 
hope  of  posterity,  let  it  not  be  blasted. 

71.  The  striking  attitude,  too,  in  which  we  stand  to  the 
world  around  us,  a  topic  to  which,  I  fear,  I  advert  too 
often,  and  dwell  on  too  long,  cannot  be  altogether  omitted 
here.  Neither  individuals  nor  nations  can  perform  their 
part  well,  until  they  understand  and  feel  its  importance. 
and  comprehend  and  justly  appreciate  all  the  duties  belong 
ing  to  it.  It  is  not  to  inflate  national  vanity,  nor  to  swell 


ADAM*  AXD  JEFFERSON  103 

a  light  and  empty  feeling  of  self-importance,  but  it  is  that 
\\c  may  judge  justly  of  our  situation,  and  of  our  duties, 
that  1  earnestly  urge  upon  you  this  consideration  of  our 
position  and  our  character  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
It  cannot  be  denied,  but  by  those  who  would  dispute 
against  the  sun.  that  with  America,  and  in  America,  a  new 
era  commences  in  human  affairs.  This  era  is  distinguished 
by  free  representative  governments,  by  entire  religious 
liberty,  by  improved  systems  of  national  intercourse,  by  a 
newly  awakened  and  an  unconquerable  spirit  of  free  in 
quiry,  and  by  a  diffusion  of  knowledge  through  the  com 
munity,  such  as  has  been  before  altogether  unknown  and 
unheard  of.  America,  America,  our  country,  fellow-citi- 
xens.  our  own  dear  and  native  land,  is  inseparably  con 
nected,  fast  bound  up.  in  fortune  and  by  fate,  with  these 
great  interests.  If  they  fall,  we  fall  with  them  ;  if  they 
stand,  it  will  be  because  we  have  maintained  them.  Let  us 
contemplate,  then,  this  connection,  which  binds  the  pros 
perity  of  others  to  our  own  ;  and  let  us  manfully  discharge 
all  the  duties  which  it  imposes.  If  we  cherish  the  virtues 
and  the  principles  of  our  fathers,  Heaven  will  assist  us  to 
carry  on  the  work  of  human  liberty  and  human  happiness. 
Auspicious  omens  cheer  us.  Great  examples  are  before 
us.  Our  own  firmament  now  shines  brightly  upon  our 
path.  Washington  is  in  the  clear,  upper  sky.  These 
other  stars  have  now  joined  the  American  constellation  ; 
they  circle  round  their  centre,  and  the  heavens  beam  with 
new  light.  Beneath  this  illumination  let  us  walk  the 
course  of  life,  and  at  its  close  devoutly  commend  our  be 
loved  country,  the  common  parent  of  us  all,  to  the  Divine 
Benignity. 


A    SPEECH    DELIVERED    AT    A    PUBLIC     DINNER     IN   HONOR   OP    THE 

CENTENNIAL   BIRTHDAY  OF   WASHINGTON,    ON  THE  22D   OF 

FEBRUARY,    1832 

[On  the  22d  of  February,  1832,  a  company  of  gentleman  assembled 
in  the  national  capital  to  celebrate  by  a  public  dinner  the  centennial 
anniversary  of  Washington's  birthday.  Most  of  them  were  members 
of  Congress.  Mr.  Webster,  who  since  182?  had  been  senator  from 
Massachusetts,  occupied  the  chair  and  gave  the  opening  toast,  prefac 
ing  it  by  the  following  remarks.] 

1.  1.  I  RISE,  Gentlemen,  to  propose  to  you  the  name  of 
that  great  man,  in  commemoration  of  whose  birth,  and  in 
honor  of  whose  character  and  services,  we  are  here  assem 
bled. 

2.  I  am  sure  that  I  express  a  sentiment  common  to  every 
one  present,  when  I  say  that  there  is  something  more  than 
ordinarily  solemn  and  affecting  in  this  occasion. 

3.  We  are  met  to  testify  our  regard  for  him  whose  name 
is  intimately  blended  with  whatever  belongs  most  essentially 
to  the  prosperity,  the  liberty,  the  free  institutions,  and  the 
renown  of  our  country.     That  name  was  of  power  to  rally 
a  nation,  in   the  hour  of  thick-thronging  public  disasters 
and  calamities  ;  that  name  shone,  amid  the  storm  of  war,  a 
beacon  light,  to  cheer  and  guide  the  country's  friends  ;  it 
flamed,  too.  like  a  meteor,  to  repel  her  foes.     That  name, 
in  the  days  of  peace,  was  a  loadstone,  attracting  to  itself  a 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  WASHINGTON     105 

whole  people's  confidence,  a  whole  people's  love,  and  the 
whole  world's  respect.  That  name,  descending  with  all 
time,  spreading  over  the  whole  earth,  and  uttered  in  all  the 
languages  belonging  to  the  tribes  and  races  of  men,  will 
forever  be  pronounced  with  affectionate  gratitude  by  every 
one  in  whose  breast  there  shall  arise  an  aspiration  for  hu 
man  rights  and  human  liberty. 

4.  We  perform  this  grateful  duty,  Gentlemen,  at  the  ex 
piration  of  a  hundred  years  from  his  birth,  near  the  place, 
so  cherished  and  beloved  by  him,  where  his  dust  now  re 
poses,  and  in  the  capital  which  bears  his  own  immortal 
name. 

II.  o.  All  experience  evinces  that  human  sentiments 
are  strongly  influenced  by  associations.  The  recurrence 
of  anniversaries,  or  of  longer  periods  of  time,  naturally 
freshens  the  recollection,  and  deepens  the  impression,  of 
events  with  which  they  are  historically  connected.  Re 
nowned  places,  also,  have  a  power  to  awaken  feeling, 
which  all  acknowledge.  No  American  can  pass  by  the 
fields  of  Bunker  Hill.  Monmouth,  and  Camden,  as  if  they 
were  ordinary  spots  on  the  earth's  surface.  Whoever 
visits  them  feels  the  sentiment  of  love  of  country  kindling 
anew,  as  if  the  spirit  that  belonged  to  the  transactions 
which  have  rendered  these  places  distinguished  still 
hovered  round,  with  power  to  move  and  excite  all  who  in 
future  time  may  approach  them. 

li.  But  neither  of  these  sources  of  emotion  equals  the 
power  with  which  great  moral  examples  affect  the  mind. 
When  sublime  virtues  cease  to  be  abstractions,  when  they 
become  embodied  in  human  character,  and  exemplified  in 
human  conduct,  we  should  be  false  to  our  own  nature  if 
we  did  not  indulge  in  the  spontaneous  effusions  of  our 
gratitude  and  our  admiration.  A  true  lover  of  the  virtue 
of  patriotism  delights  to  contemplate  its  purest  models; 


106  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

and  that  love  of  country  may  be  well  suspected  which  af 
fects  to  soar  so  high  into  the  regions  of  sentiment  as  to 
be  lost  and  absorbed  in  the  abstract  feeling,  and  becomes 
too  elevated  or  too  refined  to  glow  with  fervor  in  the  com 
mendation  or  the  love  of  individual  benefactors.  All  this 
is  unnatural.  It  is  as  if  one  should  be  so  enthusiastic  a 
lover  of  poetry  as  to  care  nothing  for  Homer  or  Milton  ; 
so  passionately  attached  to  eloquence  as  to  be  indifferent 
to  Tully l  and  Chatham  ;  or  such  a  devotee  to  the  arts,  in 
such  an  ecstasy  with  the  elements  of  beauty,  proportion, 
and  expression,  as  to  regard  the  masterpieces  of  Raphael 
and  Michael  Angelo  with  coldness  or  contempt.  We  may 
be  assured,  Gentlemen,  that  he  who  really  loves  the  thing 
itself,  loves  its  finest  exhibitions.  A  true  friend  of  his 
country  loves  her  friends  and  benefactors,  and  thinks  it 
no  degradation  to  commend  and  commemorate  them. 
The  voluntary  outpouring  of  the  public  feeling,  made  to 
day,  from  the  North  to  the  South,  and  from  the  East  to 
the  West,  proves  this  sentiment  to  be  both  just  and  nat 
ural.  In  the  cities  and  in  the  villages,  in  the  public 
temples  and  in  the  family  circles,  among  all  ages  and 
sexes,  gladdened  voices  to-day  bespeak  grateful  hearts  and 
a  freshened  recollection  of  the  virtues  of  the  Father  of  his 
Country.  And  it  will  be  so,  in  all  time  to  come,  so  long 
as  public  virtue  is  itself  an  object  of  regard.  The  in 
genuous  youth  of  America  will  hold  up  to  themselves  the 
bright  model  of  Washington's  example,  and  study  to  be  what 
they  behold  ;  they  will  contemplate  his  character  till  all 
its  virtues  spread  out  and  display  themselves  to  their  de 
lighted  vision  ;  as  the  earliest  astronomers,  the  shepherds 
on  the  plains  of  Babylon,  gazed  at  the  stars  till  they  saw 
them  form  into  clusters  and  constellations,  overpowering 
at  length  the  eyes  of  the  beholders  with  the  united  blaze 
of  a  thousand  lights. 

'Cicero. 


THE  CHARACTER  OF   WASHINGTON  107 

III.  7.  Gentlemen,  we  are  at  the  point  of  a  century  from 
the  birth  of  Washington  ;  and  what  a  century  it  has  been  ! 
During  its  course,  the  human  mind  lias  seemed  to  proceed 
with  a  sort  of  geometric  velocity,  accomplishing,  for  human 
intelligence  and  human  freedom,  more  than  had  been  done 
in  fives  or  tens  of  centuries  preceding.  Washington  stands 
at  the  commencement  of  a  new  era,  as  well  as  at  the  head 
of  the  New  World.  A  century  from  the  birth  of  Washing 
ton  has  changed  the  world.  The  country  of  Washington 
has  been  the  theatre  on  which  a  great  part  of  that  change 
has  been  wrought ;  and  Washington  himself  a  principal 
agent  by  which  it  has  been  accomplished.  His  age  and 
his  country  are  equally  full  of  wonders  ;  and  of  both  he  is 
the  chief. 

8.  If  the  poetical  prediction,  uttered  a  few  years  before 
his  birth,  be  true;  if  indeed  it  be  designed  by  Providence 
that  the  grandest  exhibition  of  human  character  and  hu 
man  affairs  shall  be  made  on  this  theatre  of  the  Western 
world  ;  if  it  be  true  that 

"  The  four  first  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day ; 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last ;  " 

how  could  this  imposing,  swelling,  final  scene  be  appropri 
ately  opened,  how  could  its  intense  interest  be  adequately 
sustained,  but  by  the  introduction  of  just  such  a  character 
as  our  Washington  ? 

9.  Washington   had   attained   his   manhood  when   that 
spark  of  liberty  was  struck  out  in  his  own  country,  which 
lias  since  kindled  into  a  flame,  and  shot  its  beams  over  the 
earth.     In  the  flow  of  a  century  from  his  birth,  the  world 
has  changed  in  science,  in  arts,  in  the  extent  of  commerce, 
in  the  improvement  of  navigation,  and  in  all  that  relates 
to  the  civilization  of  man.      But  it  is  the  spirit  of  human 
freedom,  the  new  elevation  of  individual  man,  in  his  moral, 


108  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

social,  and  political  character,  leading  the  whole  long  train 
of  other  improvements,  which  has  most  remarkably  distin 
guished  the  era.  Society,  in  this  century,  has  not  made  its 
progress,  like  Chinese  skill,  by  a  greater  acuteness  of  inge 
nuity  in  trifles  ;  it  has  not  merely  lashed  itself  to  an  in 
creased  speed  round  the  old  circles  of  thought  and  action  ; 
but  it  has  assumed  a  new  character  ;  it  has  raised  itself 
from  beneath  governments  to  a  participation  in  govern 
ments  ;  it  has  mixed  moral  and  political  objects  with  the 
daily  pursuits  of  individual  men  ;  and,  with  a  freedom  and 
strength  before  altogether  unknown,  it  has  applied  to  these 
objects  the  whole  power  of  the  human  understanding.  It 
has  been  the  era,  in  short,  when  the  social  principle  has 
triumphed  over  the  feudal  principle  ;  when  society  has 
maintained  its  rights  against  military  power,  and  estab 
lished,  on  foundations  never  hereafter  to  be  shaken,  its 
competency  to  govern  itself. 

10.  It  was  the  extraordinary  fortune  of  Washington, 
that,  having  been  intrusted,  in  Revolutionary  times,  with 
the  supreme  military  command,  and  having  fulfilled  that 
trust  with  equal  renown  for  wisdom  and  for  valor,  he 
should  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  first  government  in 
which  an  attempt  was  to  be  made  on  a  large  scale  to  rear 
the  fabric  of  social  order  on  the  basis  of  a  written  constitu 
tion  and  of  a  pure  representative  principle.  A  government 
was  to  be  established,  without  a  throne,  without  an  aristoc 
racy,  without  castes,  orders,  or  privileges ;  and  this  govern 
ment,  instead  of  being  a  democracy,  existing  and  acting 
within  the  walls  of  a  single  city,1  was  to  be  extended  over 
a  vast  country,  of  different  climates,  interests,  and  habits, 
and  of  various  communions  of  our  common  Christian  faith. 
The  experiment  certainly  was  entirely  new.  A  popular 
government  of  this  extent,  it  was  evident,  could  be  framed 
only  by  carrying  into  full  effect  the  principle  of  representa- 
» Such,  for  example,  as  the  Athenian  democracy. 


THE   CHARACTER   OF   WASHINGTON  109 

tion  or  of  delegated  power  ;  and  the  world  was  to  see 
whether  society  could,  by  the  strength  of  this  principle, 
maintain  its  own  peace  and  good  government,  carry  forward 
its  own  great  interests,  and  conduct  itself  to  political  renown 
and  glory.  By  the  benignity  of  Providence,  this  experi 
ment,  so  full  of  interest  to  us  and  to  our  posterity  forever, 
so  full  of  interest,  indeed,  to  the  world  in  its  present  gen 
eration  and  in  all  its  generations  to  come,  was  suffered  to 
commence  under  the  guidance  of  Washington.  Destined 
for  this  high  career,  he  was  fitted  for  it  by  wisdom,  by 
virtue,  by  patriotism,  by  discretion,  by  whatever  can  in 
spire  confidence  in  man  towards  man.  In  entering  on  the 
untried  scenes,  early  disappointment  and  the  premature 
extinction  of  all  hope  of  success  would  have  been  certain, 
had  it  not  been  that  there  did  exist  throughout  the  coun 
try,  in  a  most  extraordinary  degree,  an  unwavering  trust 
in  him  who  stood  at  the  helm. 

IV.  11.  I  remarked,  Gentlemen,  that  the  whole  world 
was  and  is  interested  in  the  result  of  this  experiment.  And 
is  it  not  so  ?  Do  we  deceive  ourselves,  or  is  it  true  that  at 
this  moment  the  career  which  this  government  is  running 
is  among  the  most  attractive  objects  to  the  civilized  world  ? 
Do  we  deceive  ourselves,  or  is  it  true  that  at  this  moment 
that  love  of  liberty,  and  that  understanding  of  its  true 
principles,  which  are  flying  over  the  whole  earth  as  on  the 
wings  of  all  the  winds,  are  really  and  truly  of  American 
origin  ? 

12.  At  the  period  of  the  birth  of  Washington,  there 
existed  in  Europe  no  political  liberty  in  large  communi 
ties,  except  in  the  provinces  of  Holland,  and  except  that 
England  herself  had  set  a  great  example,  so  far  as  it  went, 
by  her  glorious  Revolution  of  Ki88.  Everywhere  else 
despotic  power  was  predominant,  and  the  feudal  or  mili 
tary  principle  held  the  mass  of  mankind  in  hopeless  bond- 


110  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

age.  One  half  of  Europe  was  crushed  beneath  the  Bour 
bon  sceptre,1  and  no  conception  of  political  liberty,  no  hope 
even  of  religious  toleration,  existed  among  that  nation 
which  was  America's  first  ally.  The  king  was  the  state, 
the  king  was  the  country,  the  king  was  all.  There  was  one 
king,  with  power  not  derived  from  his  people,  and  too 
high  to  be  questioned  ;  and  the  rest  were  all  subjects,  witli 
no  political  right  but  obedience.  All  above  was  intangi 
ble  power,  all  below  quiet  subjection.  A  recent  occur 
rence  in  the  French  Chambers  shows  us  how  public  opin 
ion  on  these  subjects  is  changed.  A  minister  had  spoken 
of  the  "king's  subjects."  "There  are  no  subjects,"  ex 
claimed  hundreds  of  voices  at  once,  "  in  a  country  where 
the  people  make  the  king  ! " 

13.  Gentlemen,  the  spirit  of  human  liberty  and  of  free 
government,  nurtured  and  grown  into  strength  and  beauty 
in  America,  has  stretched  its  course  into  the  midst  of  the 
nations.     Like  an  emanation   from  Heaven,  it  has   gone 
forth,  and   it  will  not  return  void.     It  must  change,  it  is 
fast  changing,  the  face  of  the  earth.     Our  great,  our  high 
duty  is  to  show,  in  our  own  example,  that  this  spirit  is  a 
spirit  of  health  as  well  as  a  spirit  of  power  ;  that  its  benig 
nity  is  as  great  as  its  strength  ;  that  its  efficiency  to  secure 
individual  rights,  social  relations,  and  moral  order,  is  equal 
to  the  irresistible  force  with  which  it  prostrates  principali 
ties  and  powers.   The  world,  at  this  moment,  is  regarding 
us  with  a  willing,  but  something  of  a  fearful  admiration. 
Its  deep  and  awful  anxiety  is  to  learn  whether  free  states 
may  be  stable,  as  well  as  free  ;  whether  popular  power  may 
be  trusted,  as  well  as  feared  ;  in  short,  whether  wise,  regu 
lar,  and  virtuous  self-government  is  a  vision  for  the  con 
templation  of  theorists,  or  a  truth  established,  illustrated, 
and  brought  into  practice  in  the  country  of  Washington. 

14.  Gentlemen,  for  the  earth  which  we  inhabit  and  the 

1  In  the  hands  of  Louis  XV.,  of  France. 


TIIK   CHARACTER   OF    WASHINGTON  111 

whole  circle  of  the  suii,  for  all  the  unborn  races  of  rnan- 
inind,  \ve  seem  to  hold  in  our  hands,  for  their  weal  or  woe, 
the  fate  of  this  experiment.  If  we  fail,  who  shall  venture 
the  repetition  ?  If  our  example  shall  prove  to  be  one,  not 
of  encouragement,  but  of  terror,  not  fit  to  be  imitated,  but 
fit  only  to  be  shunned,  where  else  shall  the  world  look  for 
free  models  ?  If  .this  great  Western  Sun  be  struck  out  of 
the  firmament,  at  what  other  fountain  shall  the  lamp  of 
liberty  hereafter  be  lighted  ?  What  other  orb  shall  emit 
a  ray  to  glimmer,  even,  on  the  darkness  of  the  world  !J 

15.  There  is  no  danger  of  our  overrating  or  overstating 
the  important  part  which  \ve  are  now  acting  in  human 
affairs.  It  should  not  flatter  our  personal  self-respect,  but 
it  should  reanimate  our  patriotic  virtues,  and  inspire  us 
with  a  deeper  and  more  solemn  sense,  both  of  our  privi 
leges  and  of  our  duties.  We  cannot  wish  better  for  our 
country,  nor  for  the  world,  than  that  the  same  spirit  which 
influenced  Washington  may  influence  all  who  succeed  him  ; 
and  that  the  same  blessing  from  above,  which  attended  his 
efforts,  may  also  attend  theirs. 

V.  1C.  The  principles  of  Washington's  administration 
are  not  left  doubtful.  They  are  to  be  found  in  the  Con 
stitution  itself,  in  the  great  measures  recommended  and 
approved  by  him,  in  his  speeches  to  Congress,  and  in  that 
most  interesting  paper,  his  Farewell  Address  to  the  People 
of  the  United  States.  The  success  of  the  government 
under  his  administration  is  the  highest  proof  of  the  sound 
ness  of  these  principles.  And,  after  an  experience  of  thirty- 
five  years,  what  is  there  which  an  enemy  could  condemn  ? 
What  is  there  which  either  his  friends,  or  the  friends 
of  the  country,  could  wish  to  have  been  otherwise  ?  I 
speak,  of  course,  of  great  measures  and  leading  principles. 

17.  In  the  first  place,  all  his  measures  were  right  in  their 
intent.  He  stated  the  whole  basis  of  his  own  great  char- 


112  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

acter,  when  ho  told  the  country,  in  the  homely  phrase  of 
the  proverb,  that  honesty  is  the  best  policy.  One  of  the 
most  striking  things  ever  said  of  him  is,  that  "  he  changed 
mankind's  ideas  of  political  greatness."1  To  command 
ing  talents,  and  to  success,  the  common  elements  of  such 
greatness,  he  added  a  disregard  of  self,  a  spotlessness  of 
motive,  a  steady  submission  to  every  public  and  private 
duty,  which  threw  far  into  the  shade  the  whole  crowd  of 
vulgar  great.  The  object  of  his  regard  was  the  whole 
country.  No  part  of  it  was  enough  to  fill  his  enlarged 
patriotism.  His  love  of  glory,  so  far  as  that  may  be  sup 
posed  to  have  influenced  him  at  all,  spurned  everything 
short  of  general  approbation.  It  would  have  been  nothing 
to  him,  that  his  partisans  or  his  favorites  outnumbered,  or 
outvoted,  or  outmanaged,  or  outclamored,  those  of  other 
leaders.  He  had  no  favorites  ;  he  rejected  all  partisan 
ship  ;  and,  acting  honestly  for  the  universal  good,  he  de 
served,  what  he  has  so  richly  enjoyed,  the  universal  love. 

18.  His  principle  it  was  to  act  right,  and  to  trust  the 
people  for  support  ;    his  principle  it  was  not  to  follow  the 
lead  of  sinister  and  selfish  ends,  nor  to  rely  on  the  little 
arts  of  party  delusion  to  obtain  public  sanction  for  such  a 
course.     Born  for  his  country  and  for  the  world,  he  did 
not  give  up  to  party  what  was  meant  for  mankind.     The 
consequence  is,  that  his  fame  is  as  durable  as  his  princi 
ples,  as  lasting  as  truth  and  virtue  themselves.      While  the 
hundreds  whom  party  excitement,  and  temporary  circum 
stances,  and  casual  combinations,  have  raised  into  transient 
notoriety,  sink  again,  like  thin  bubbles,  bursting  and  dis 
solving  into  the  great  ocean,  Washington's  fame  is  like  the 
rock  which  bounds  that  ocean,  and  at  whose  feet  its  billows 
are  destined  to  break  harmlessly  forever. 

19.  The  maxims  upon  which  Washington  conducted  our 

''  Mankind  perceived  some  change  in  their  ideas  of  greatness." — 
Fisher  Ames,  E>doyy  on  Wasldnytoii, 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  WASHINGTON     113 

foreign  relations  were  few  and  simple.  The  first  was  an 
entire  and  indisputable  impartiality  towards  foreign  states. 
He  adhered  to  this  rule  of  public  conduct,  against  very 
strong  inducements  to  depart  from  it,  and  when  the  popu 
larity  of  the  moment  seemed  to  favor  such  a  departure. 
In  the  next  place,  he  maintained  true  dignity  and  unsullied 
honor  in  all  communications  with  foreign  states.  It  was 
among  the  high  duties  devolved  upon  him,  to  introduce 
our  new  government  into  the  circle  of  civilized  states  and 
powerful  nations.  Not  arrogant  or  assuming,  with  no  un 
becoming  or  supercilious  bearing,  he  yet  exacted  for  it 
from  all  others  entire  and  punctilious  respect,  lie  de 
manded,  and  he  obtained  at  once,  a  standing  of  perfect 
equality  for  his  country  in  the  society  of  nations  ;  nor  was 
there  a  prince  or  potentate  of  his  day,  whose  personal 
character  carried  with  it,  into  the  intercourse  of  other 
states,  a  greater  degree  of  respect  and  veneration. 

20.  He  regarded  other  nations  only  as  they  stood  in 
political  relations  to  us.     With  their  internal  affairs,  their 
political  parties  and  dissensions,  he  scrupulously  abstained 
from  all  interference  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  he  repelled 
with    spirit   all    such    interference  by   others   with  us   or 
our  concerns.       His  sternest  rebuke,  the  most  indignant 
measure  of  his  whole  administration,1  was  aimed  against 
such  an  attempted  interference.      He  felt  it  as  an  attempt 
to  wound  the  national  honor,  and  resented  it  accordingly. 

21.  The  reiterated  admonitions  in  his  Farewell  Address 
show  his  deep  fears  that  foreign  influence  would  insinuate 
itself  into  our  counsels  through  the  channels  of  domestic 
dissension,  and  obtain  a  sympathy  with  our  own  temporary 
parties.     Against  all  such  dangers,  he  most  earnestly  en 
treats  the  country  to  guard  itself.     He  appeals  to  its  pat 
riotism,  to  its  self-respect,  to  its  own  honor,  to  every  con 
sideration  connected   with   its  welfare  and    happiness,   to 

1  His  request  that  the  French  minister,  M.  Genet,  be  recalled. 


114  DANIEL    WKBSTER 

resist,  tit  the  very  beginning,  all  tendencies  towards  such 
connection  of  foreign  interests  with  our  own  affairs.  With 
a  tone  of  earnestness  nowhere  else  found,  even  in  his  last 
affectionate  farewell  advice  to  his  countrymen,  he  says, 
"  Against  the  insidious  wiles  of  foreign  influence,  (I  con 
jure  you  to  believe  me,  fellow-citizens,)  the  jealousy  of  a 
free  people  ought  to  be  constantly  awake  ;  since  history 
and  experience  prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one  of  the 
most  baneful  foes  of  republican  government.'' 

'22.  Lastly,  on  the  subject  of  foreign  relations,  Washing 
ton  never  forgot  that  we  had  interests  peculiar  to  ourselves. 
The  primary  political  concerns  of  Europe,  he  saw.  did  not 
affect  us.  We  had  nothing  to  do  with  her  balance  of 
power,  her  family  compacts,  or  her  successions  to  thrones. 
We  were  placed  in  a  condition  favorable  to  neutrality 
during  European  wars,  and  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the 
great  advantages  of  that  relation.  "  Why,  then."  he  asks 
us,  "  why  forego  the  advantages  of  so  peculiar  a  situation  ? 
Why  quit  our  own  to  stand  upon  foreign  ground  ?  Why, 
by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that  of  any  part  of 
Europe,  entangle  our  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  toils  of 
European  ambition,  rivalship,  interest,  humor,  or  cap  rice?" 

23.  Indeed,  Gentlemen,  Washington's  Farewell  Address 
is  full  of  truths  important  at  all  times,  and  particularly 
deserving  consideration  at  the  present.  With  a  sagacity 
which  brought  the  future  before  him,  and  made  it  like  the 
present,  he  saw  and  pointed  out  the  dangers  that  even  at 
this  moment  most  imminently  threaten  us.  I  hardly  know 
how  a  greater  service  of  that  kind  could  now  be  done  to  the 
community,  than  by  a  renewed  and  wide  diffusion  of  that 
admirable  paper,  and  an  earnest  invitation  to  every  man  in 
the  country  to  reperuse  and  consider  it.  Its  political 
maxims  are  invaluable  ;  its  exhortations  to  love  of  country 
and  to  brotherly  affection  among  citizens,  touching  ;  and 
the  solemnity  with  which  it  urges  the  observance  of  moral 


THE  CHARACTER   OF   WASHINGTON  115 

duties,  and  impresses  the  power  of  religious  obligation, 
gives  to  it  the  highest  character  of  truly  disinterested,  sin 
cere,  parental  advice. 

24.  The  domestic  policy  of  Washington  found  its  pole- 
star  in  the  avowed  objects  of  the  Constitution  itself.     He 
sought  so  to  administer  that  Constitution,  as  to  form  a 
more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tran 
quillity,    provide   for   the   common  defence,  promote    the 
general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty.     These 
were   objects   interesting,   in    the   highest   degree,   to    the 
whole  country,  and  his  policy  embraced  the  whole  country. 

25.  Among  his  earliest  and  most  important  duties  was 
the  organization  of  the  government  itself,  the  choice  of  his 
confidential    advisers,    and    the    various   appointments    to 
office.     This  duty,  so  important  and  delicate,  when  a  whole 
government  was  to  be  organized,  and  all  its  offices  for  the 
first  time  filled,  was  yet  not  difficult  to  him  ;  for  he  had 
no  sinister  ends  to  accomplish,  no  clamorous  partisans  to 
gratify,  no  pledges  to  redeem,  no  object  to  be  regarded, 
but  simply  the  public  good.    It  was  a  plain,  straightforward 
matter,  a  mere  honest  choice  of  good  men  for  the  public 
service. 

2(5.  His  own  singleness  of  purpose,  his  disinterested 
patriotism,  were  evinced  by  the  selection  of  his  first  cabi 
net,  and  by  the  manner  in  which  he  filled  the  seats  of 
justice  and  other  places  of  high  trust.  He  sought  for  men 
fit  for  offices,  not  for  offices  which  might  suit  men.  Above 
personal  considerations,  above  local  considerations,  above 
party  considerations,  he  felt  that  he  could  only  discharge 
the  sacred  trust  which  the  country  had  placed  in  his  hands, 
by  a  diligent  inquiry  after  real  merit,  and  a  conscientious 
preference  of  virtue  and  talent.  The  whole  country  was 
the  field  of  his  selection.  He  explored  that  whole  field, 
looking  only  for  whatever  it  contained  most  worthy  and 
distinguished.  He  was,  indeed,  most  successful,  and  he 


116  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

deserved  success  for  the  purity  of  his  motives,  the  liberality 
of  his  sentiments,  and  his  enlarged  and  manly  policy. 

27.  Washington's  administration  established  the  national 
credit,  made  provision  for  the  public  debt,  and  for  that 
patriotic  army  whose  interests  and  welfare  were  always  so 
dear  to  him  ;  and,  by  laws  wisely  framed,  and  of  admirable 
effect,  raised  the  commerce  and  navigation  of  the  country, 
almost  at  once,  from  depression  and  ruin  to  a  state  of  pros 
perity.     Nor  were  his  eyes  open  to  these  interests  alone. 
He  viewed  with  equal  concern  its  agriculture  and  manu 
factures,  and,  so  far  as  they  came  within  the  regular  exer 
cise  of  the  powers  of  this  government,  they  experienced 
regard  and  favor. 

28.  It  should  not  be  omitted,  even  in  this  slight  refer 
ence  to  the  general  measures  and  general  principles  of  the 
first  President,  that  he  saw  and  felt  the  full  value  and  im 
portance  of  the  judicial  department  of  the  government. 
An  upright  and  able  administration  of  the  laws  he  held 
to  be  alike  indispensable  to  private  happiness  and  public 
liberty.     The  temple  of  justice,  in  his  opinion,  was  a  sa 
cred  place,  and  he  would  profane  and  pollute  it  who  should 
call   any  to  minister   in  it  not  spotless  in  character,  not 
incorruptible    in    integrity,  not  competent  by  talent  and 
learning,  not  a  fit  object  of  unhesitating  trust. 

29.  Among  other  admonitions,  Washington  has  left  us, 
in   his   last    communication  to    his  country,  an  exhorta 
tion  against  the  excesses  of   party  spirit.     A  fire  not  to 
be  quenched,  he  yet  conjures  us  not  to  fan  and  feed  the 
flame.     Undoubtedly,  Gentlemen,  it  is  the  greatest  dan 
ger  of   our    system    and  of    our    time.     Undoubtedly,  if 
that  system   should   be  overthrown,  it  will   be  the  work 
of    excessive    party   spirit,  acting    on    the    government, 
which    is   dangerous    enough,  or   acting   in    the   govern 
ment,  which  is    a   thousand    times    more   dangerous :  for 
government    then  becomes  nothing   but  organized  party, 


THE  CHARACTER  OF   WASHINGTON  117 

and,  in  the  strange  vicissitudes  of  human  affairs,  it  may 
come  at  last,  perhaps,  to  exhibit  the  singular  paradox  of 
government  itself  being  in  opposition  to  its  own  powers, 
at  war  with  the  very  elements  of  its  own  existence. 
Such  cases  are  hopeless.  As  men  may  be  protected 
against  murder,  but  cannot  be  guarded  against  suicide, 
so  government  may  be  shielded  from  the  assaults  of  ex 
ternal  foes,  but  nothing  can  save  it  when  it  chooses  to 
lay  violent  hands  on  itself. 

30.  Finally,  Gentlemen,  there  was  in  the  breast  of 
Washington  one  sentiment  so  deeply  felt,  so  constantly 
uppermost,  that  no  proper  occasion  escaped  without  its 
utterance.  From  the  letter  which  he  signed  in  behalf 
of  the  Convention  when  the  Constitution  was  sent  out 
to  the  people,  to  the  moment  when  he  put  his  hand  to 
that  last  paper  in  which  he  addressed  his  countrymen, 
the  Union, — the  Union  was  the  great  object  of  his 
thoughts.  In  that  first  letter  he  tells  them  that,  to  him 
and  his  brethren  of  the  Convention,  union  appears  to 
be  the  greatest  interest  of  every  true  American  ;  and  in 
that  last  paper  he  conjures  them  to  regard  that  unity 
of  government  which  constitutes  them  one  people,  as 
the  very  palladium  of  their  prosperity  and  safety,  and 
the  security  of  liberty  itself.  He  regarded  the  union  of 
these  States  less  as  one  of  our  blessings,  than  as  the 
great  treasure-house  which  contained  them  all.  Here, 
in  his  judgment,  was  the  great  magazine  of  all  our  means 
of  prosperity ;  here,  as  he  thought,  and  as  every  true 
American  still  thinks,  are  deposited  all  our  animating 
prospects,  all  our  solid  hopes  for  future  greatness.  He  has 
taught  us  to  maintain  this  union,  not  by  seeking  to  enlarge 
the  powers  of  the  government,  on  the  one  hand,  nor  by 
surrendering  them,  on  the  other  ;  but  by  an  administration 
of  them  at  once  firm  and  moderate,  pursuing  objects  truly 
national,  and  carried  on  in  a  spirit  of  justice  and  equity. 


118  DANIEL   WEBSTER 

31.  The  extreme  solicitude  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union,  at  all  times  manifested  by  him,  shows  not  only  the 
opinion  he  entertained  of  its  importance,  but  his  clear  per 
ception  of  those  causes  which  were  likely  to  spring  up  to 
endanger  it,  and  which,  if  once  they  should  overthrow  the 
present  system,  would  leave  little  hope  of  any  future  bene 
ficial  reunion.     Of  all  the  presumptions  indulged  by  pre 
sumptuous  man,  that  is  one  of   the  rashest  which  looks 
for  repeated  and  favorable  opportunities  for  the  deliberate 
establishment  of  a  united  government  over  distinct  and 
widely  extended  communities.      Such  a  thing    has   hap 
pened  once  in  human  affairs,  and  but  once  ;  the  event 
stands  out  as  a  prominent  exception   to  all   ordinary  his 
tory  ;  and,  unless   we  suppose  ourselves  running  into  an 
age  of  miracles,  we  may  not  expect  its  repetition. 

32.  Washington,  therefore,   could   regard,   and  did    re 
gard,  nothing  as  of  paramount  political  interest  but  the 
integrity  of  the  Union  itself.     With  a  united  government, 
well  administered,  he  saw  that  we  had   nothing  to  fear  ; 
and  without  it,  nothing  to  hope.     The  sentiment  is  just, 
and  its    momentous  truth    should   solemnly   impress   the 
whole  country.     If  we  might  regard  our  country  as  per 
sonated  in  the  spirit  of    Washington,  if  we  might  con 
sider  him  as  representing  her,  in   her  past  renown,   her 
present  prosperity,  and  her  future  career,  and  as,  in  that 
character,  demanding  of  us  all  to  account  for  our  conduct, 
as  political  men  or  as  private  citizens,  how  should  lie  an 
swer  him  who  has  ventured   to  talk  of  disunion  and  dis 
memberment  ?      Or     how    should     he   answer    him    who 
dwells  perpetually  on  local  interests,  and  fans  every  kind 
ling    flame    of    local    prejudice  ?      How    should   he    an 
swer  him  who  would   array  State  against  State,  interest 
.•igainst  interest,  and  party  against  party,  careless  of  the 
continuance  of  that  unity  of  government  which  constitutes 
us  one  people  ? 


THE   CHAHAf'TKn   OF   WASHINGTON  119 

VI.  3.3.  The  political  prosperity  which  this  country  has 
attained,  and  which  it  now  enjoys,  has  been  acquired 
mainlv  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  present  govern 
ment.  While  this  agent  continues,  the  capacity  of  attain 
ing  to  still  higher  degrees  of  prosperity  exists  also.  We 
have,  while  this  lasts,  a  political  life  capable  of  beneficial 
exertion,  with  power  to  resist  or  overcome  misfortunes,  to 
sustain  us  against  the  ordinary  accidents  of  human  affairs, 
and  to  promote,  by  active  efforts,  every  public  interest. 
Hut  dismemberment  strikes  at  the  very  being  which  pre 
serves  these  faculties.  It  would  lay  its  rude  and  ruthless 
hand  on  this  great  agent  itself.  It  would  sweep  away,  not 
only  what  we  possess,  but  all  power  of  regaining  lost,  or 
acquiring  new  possessions.  It  would  leave  the  country, 
not  only  bereft  of  its  prosperity  and  happiness,  but  with 
out  limbs,  or  organs,  or  faculties,  by  which  to  exert  itself 
hereafter  in  the  pursuit  of  that  prosperity  and  happiness. 

34.  Other  misfortunes  may  be  borne,  or  their  effects 
overcome.  If  disastrous  war  should  sweep  our  commerce 
from  the  ocean,  another  generation  may  renew  it ;  if  it  ex 
haust  our  treasury,  future  industry  may  replenish  it ;  if  it 
desolate  and  lay  waste  our  fields,  still,  under  a  new  cultiva 
tion,  they  will  grow  green  again,  and  ripen  to  future  har 
vests.  It  were  but  a  trifle  even  if  the  walls  of  yonder 
Capitol  were  to  crumble,  if  its  lofty  pillars  should  fall,  and 
its  gorgeous  decorations  be  all  covered  by  the  dust  of  the 
valley.  All  these  might  be  rebuilt.  But  who  shall  recon 
struct  the  fabric  of  demolished  government  •*  Who  shall 
rear  again  the  well-proportioned  columns  of  constitutional 
liberty  ?  Who  shall  frame  together  the  skilful  architect 
ure  which  unites  national  sovereignty  with  State  rights, 
individual  security,  and  public  prosperity  ?  Xo,  if  these 
columns  fall,  they  will  be  raised  not  again.  Like  the 
Coliseum  and  the  Parthenon,  they  will  be  destined  to  a 
mournful,  a  melancholv  irnmortalitv.  Bitterer  tears,  how- 


120  DANIEL    WEBSTER 

ever,  will  flow  over  them  than  were  ever  shed  over  the 
monuments  of  Roman  or  Grecian  art ;  for  they  will  be  the 
remnants  of  a  more  glorious  edifice  than  Greece  or  Koine 
ever  saw,  the  edifice  of  constitutional  American  liberty. 

35.  But  let  us  hope  for  better  things.  Let  us  trust  in 
that  gracious  Being  who  has  hitherto  held  our  country  as 
in  the  hollow  of  his  hand.  Let  us  trust  to  the  virtue  and 
the  intelligence  of  the  people,  and  to  the  efficacy  of  re 
ligious  obligation.  Let  us  trust  to  the  influence  of  Wash 
ington's  example.  Let  us  hope  that  that  fear  of  Heaven 
which  expels  all  other  fear,  and  that  regard  to  duty  which 
transcends  all  other  regard,  may  influence  public  men  and 
private  citizens,  and  lead  our  country  still  onward  in  her 
happy  career.  Full  of  these  gratifying  anticipations  and 
hopes,  let  us  look  forward  to  the  end  of  that  century 
which  is  now  commenced.  A  hundred  years  hence,  other 
disciples  of  Washington  will  celebrate  his  birth,  with  no 
less  of  sincere  admiration  than  we  now  commemorate  it. 
When  they  shall  meet,  as  we  now  meet,  to  do  themselves 
and  him  that  honor,  so  surely  as  they  shall  see  the  blue 
summits  of  his  native  mountains  rise  in  the  horizon,  so 
surely  as  they  shall  behold  the  river  on  whose  banks  he 
lived,  and  on  whose  banks  lie  rests,  still  flowing  on  towards 
the  sea,  so  surely  may  they  see,  as  we  now  see,  the  flag  of 
the  Union  floating  on  the  top  of  the  Capitol  ;  and  then,  as 
now,  may  the  sun  in  his  course  visit  no  land  more  free, 
more  happy,  more  lovely,  than  this  our  own  country  ! 

Gentlemen,  I  propose — 

"  THE  MEMOKY  OF  GEOKC4E  WASHINGTON." 


GENERAL    NOTE 


A.    SUGGESTIONS  FOB  STUDENTS 

[References  to  the  text  will  be  made  by  means  of  the  following 
abbreviations  :  1  B.  H.  —  "  First  Bunker  Hill  Oration  ;  "  2  B.  H. 
=  "  Second  Bunker  Hill  Oration  ;  "  A.  J.  =  "  Adams  and  Jeffer 
son  ;"  C.  W.  —  "Character  of  Washington."  A  number  follow 
ing  the  abbreviation  indicates  the  paragraph  referred  to  ;  thus, 
1  B.  H.  26  =  "  First  Bunker  Hill  Oration,"  paragraph  26. J 

1.  Editions  of  Webster. — The  standard  edition  of  Webster's 
works  is  that  published  by  Little,  Brown,  and  Co.,  in  1851,  and 
since  then  frequently  republished.  In  the  first  volume  are  con 
tained  all  of  the  orations  included  in  the  present  edition. 

The  first  edition  of  the  "First  Bunker  Hill  Oration  "  was  pub 
lished  by  Cummings,  Hilliard,  and  Co.,  of  Boston,  almost  imme 
diately  after  it  was  delivered.  It  appeared  as  a  pamphlet  of  forty 
pages,  with  the  title,  "  An  Address  at  the  Laying  of  the  Corner 
Stone  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument."  Before  the  close  of  the 
year  it  had  gone  through  five  editions.  Since  then  this  oration 
has  been  many  times  republished. 

The  text  of  the  "  First  Blanker  Hill  Oration,"  as  revised  by 
Mr.  Webster  for  the  edition  of  1851,  differs  in  some  passages  from 
the  text  of  the  first  edition.  A  complete  list  of  these  changes  is 
presented  in  parallel  columns  below  : 


F*irst  Edition. 


(Par.  2)  We  live  in  what  may 
be  called  the  early  age  of  this 
great  continent ;  and  we  know 
that  our  posterity,  through  all 
time,  are  here  to  suffer  and  enjoy  — are  here  to  enjoy  and  suffer. 
the  allotments  of  humanity. 


Edition  of  1851. 


122 


GENERAL   NOTE 


First  Edition. 

(Par.  3)  It  is  more  impossible 
for  us, therefore, than  for  others, 
to  contemplate  with  unaffected 
minds,  etc. 

(Par.  4)  Tons,  their  children, 
the  story  of  their  labors  and 
sufferings  can  never  be  without 
its  interest. 

(Par.  7)  We  wish  that,  in 
these  days  of  disaster,  which, 
as  they  come  on  all  nations, 
must  be  expected  to  come  upon 
us  also,  desponding  patriotism 
may  turn  its  eyes  hitherward, 
and  be  assured  that  the  founda 
tions  of  our  national  power  still 
stand  strong. 

(Par.  7)  We  wish,  finally,  that 
the  last  object  on  the  sight  of 
him  who  leaves  his  native  shore, 
and  the  first  to  gladden  his  who 
revisits  it,  may  be  something 
which  shall  remind  him  of  the 
liberty  and  the  glory  of  his 
country.  Let  it  rise,  till  it  meet 
the  sun  in  his  coming,  etc. 

(Par.  10)  In  the  mean  time 
both  in  Europe  and  America, 
such  has  been  the  general  prog 
ress  of  knowledge,  such  the 
improvements  in  legislation, 
etc. 

(Par.  11)  — while  we  hold  still 
among  us  some  of  those  who 
were  active  agents  in  the  scenes 
of  1775,  etc. 

(Par.    12j  Come    out  to  wel- 


Edition  of  1851. 
It  would  be  still  more  unnatu 
ral  for  us,  therefore,  than  for 
others,  etc. 

To  us,  their  children, the  story 
of  their  labors  and  sufferings 
can  never  be  without  interest. 


— as  they  come  upon  all  na 
tions. 


— the  foundations  of  our  na 
tional  power  are  still  strong. 

We  wish,  finally,  that  the  last 
object  to  the  sight  of  him  who 
leaves  his  native  shore,  and  the 
first  to  gladden  him  who  re 
visits  it,  may  be  something 
which  shall  remind  him  of  the 
liberty  and  the  glory  of  his 
country.  Let  it  rise  !  let  it  rise, 
till  it  meet  the  sun  in  his  com 
ing,  etc. 


— such    the   improvement   in 
legislation,  etc. 

— while  we  still  have  among 
us,  etc. 


GENERAL  NOTE 


123 


Fir  si  Edition. 

come  and    greet   you    with  an 
universal  jubilee. 

("Par.  12)  — God  lias  granted 
you  this  sight  of  your  country's 
happiness,  ere  you  slumber  in 
the  grave  forerer. 

(Par.  13)  — our  eyes  seek  for 
you  in  vain  amidst  this  broken 
band. 

(Par.  17)  The  images  of  the 
dead,  as  well  as  the  persons  of 
the  living,  throng  to  your  em 
braces. 

(Par.  17)  — then  look  abroad 
into  this  lovely  land  .  .  .  yea, 
look  abroad  into  the  whole 
earth,  etc. 

(Par.  18)  It  had  been  antici 
pated,  that  while  the  other  Colo 
nies  would  be  terrified,  etc. 

( Pur.  -21)  The  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  was  attended  with  the  most 
important,  effects  beyond  its  im 
mediate  result  as  a  military  en 
gagement. 

(Par.  22)  To  this  able  vindi 
cation  of  their  cause,  the  Colo 
nies  had  now  added  a  practical 
and  severe  proof  of  their  own 
true  devotion  to  it, and  evidence 
also  of  the  power  which  they 
could  bring  to  its  support. 

(Par.  22)  — leave  more  of 
their  enemies  dead  on  the  field, 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
combatants,  than  they  had  re- 
cc.nthi  known  in  the  wars  of  Eu 
rope. 


Edition  of  1851. 
— with  a  universal  jubilee. 


— ere  yon  slumber  in  the 
grave. 

— amid  this  broken  band. 

The  images  of  the  dead,  as 
well  as  the  persons  of  the  living. 
present  themselves  before  yon. 

— then  look  abroad  upon  this 
lovely  land  .  .  .  yea,  look 
abroad  upon  the  whole  earth, 
etc. 

It  had  been  anticipated  that 
while  the  Colonies  in  general 
would  be  terrified,  etc. 


— beyond  its  immediate  re 
sults  as  a  military  engagement. 


— and  given  evidence  also  of 
the  power,  etc. 


— than  had  been  recently  known 
to  fall  in  the  wars  of  Europe. 


124 


GENERAL  NOTE 


First  Edition. 
(Par.  23)  Informationof  j 
these  events,  circulating  through 
Knrope,  etc. 

(Par.  24)  The  occasion  is  too 
severe  for  eulogy  to  the  living. 

(Par.  26)  Sir,  monuments  and 
eulogy  belong  to  the  dead. 

(Par.  26)  Oil  other  occasions 
they  have  been  given  to  your 
more  immediate  companions  in 
arms,  to  Washington,  to  Gates, 
Sullivan,  and  Lincoln.  Sir,  we 
have  become  reluctant,  etc. 

(Par.  35)  The  prayer  of  the 
Grecian  combatant,  etc. 

(Par.  36)  Wars  to  maintain 
family  alliances,  to  uphold  or  to 
cast  down  dynasties,  to  regulate 
successions  to  thrones,  etc. 

(Par.  36)  — either  to  wrest 
that  country  from  its  present 
masters  and  add  it  to  other 
powers,  or  to  execute  the  system 
of  pacification  by  force. 

(Par.  39)  —the  progress  of- 
information  not  only  testifies  to 
an  improved  condition,  but  con 
stitutes,  itself,  the  highest  and 
most  essential  improvement. 

(Par.  40)  But  in  our  day  there 
hath  been,  as  it  were,  a  new 
creation. 

(Par.  41)  ^4nc?let  us  endeavor 
to  comprehend,  etc. 

(Par.  44)  Those  are  daily 
dropping  from  among  us  who 
established  our  liberty  and  our 
government. 


Edition  of  1851. 

— circulating  throughout  the 
world,  etc. 

The  occasion  is  too  severe  for 
eulogy  of  the  living. 

Monuments  and  eulogy  be 
long  to  the  dead. 


— to  Greene,  to  Gates,  to  Sul 
livan,  and  to  Lincoln.  We  have 
become  reluctant,  etc. 

The  prayer  of  the  Grecian 
champion,  etc. 

— to  cast  down  dynasties,  and 
t  o  regulate  successions  t  o 
thrones,  etc. 

—to  wrest  that  country  from 
its  present  masters,  or  to  exe 
cute  the  system  of  pacification 
by  force. 


— but  itself  constitutes  the 
highest  and  most  essential  im 
provement. 

But  in  our  day  there  has 
been,  etc. 

Let  us  endeavor  to  compre 
hend,  etc. 

Those  who  established  our 
liberty  and  our  government  are 
daily  dropping  from  among  us. 


GENERAL  NOTE  125 

2.  Text  of  this  Edition. — The  text  of  1851  has  been  generally 
followed  in  later  editions.     An  exception,  however,  is  found  in 
the  edition  published  by  the  American  Book  Company,  in  which 
the  punctuation  and  capitalizing  are  altered  so  as  to  conform  to 
modern  usages.     In  the  present  edition  the  text  is  substantially 
that  of  the  edition  of  1851.     The  editor  has  ventured  but  one 
correction.       In  2    B.    H.  32   of  the   original   text   occurs   the 
sentence   "  Spain   stooped    on    South    America    like    a   vulture 
on   its   prey."      The   word    "  stooped "    has   been   changed   to 
"  swooped." 

3.  Annotated  Editions. — The  early  editions  were  devoid  of  notes. 
For  the  edition  of  1851  judicious  annotations  in  the  way  of  intro 
ductions  and  footnotes  were  prepared  by  the  editor,  Mr.  Edward 
Everett.    These  are  reproduced,  with  some  additions  and  changes, 
in  the  school  editions  published  by  Houghton,  Mifnin,  and  Co. 
(Riverside  Literature  Series,  1  B,  H.  and  A.  </.),  and  by  Ginnand 
Co.  (Annotated  English  Classics,  1  B.  H.).    They  are  also  drawn 
upon  (at  times  rather  recklessly)  by  the  editor  of  Maynard's  Eng 
lish  Classic  Series  (1  B.  H.,  and  2  B.  H.  minus  a  part  of  $2  and 
$  3-8),  though  the  notes  to  this  edition  contain  also  much  that  is 
original  with  the  editor.      The  edition  of    the  American  Book 
Company  (Eclectic  English  Classics,  1  B.  H.,  C.  W.  and  A.  J.), 
the  edition  of  Heath  and  Co.,  edited  by  A.  J.  George  (Heath's 
English  Classics,  1  B.   H.},  and  the  edition  of  Leach,  Shewell, 
find  Sanborn,  edited  by  Miss  L.  M.  Hodgkins  (Students'  Series  of 
English  Classics,  1  B.  //.),  contain  annotations  which  are  the  re 
sults  of  independent  study. 

4.  References  on  Webster's  Biography. — The  best  single  book  on 
Webster,  if  but  one   book   can  be  obtained,  is  H.  C.  Lodge's 
"  Daniel  Webster,"  in  the  American  Statesmen  Series  (Houghton, 
MifHin,  and  Co.;  price,  $1.25).     Higher  as  authority,  but  more 
elaborate  and  not  so  readily  obtainable,  is  the  life  of  Webster  by 
George  Ticknor  Curtis,   published    in  1869.      The  biographical 
memoir  by  Edward  Everett,  prefixed  to  the  edition  of  1851,  is 
full  and  accurate,  but,  being  ponderously  oratorical  in  style,  is 
not  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  young.     Webster's  "  Autobiog 
raphy,"  published,  together  with  his  private  correspondence,  in 
]S;">7.  is  highly  interesting,  but  unfortunately  closes  with  the  year 
1817. 


126  GENERAL  NOTE 

Of  the  essays  and  addresses  touching  upon  the  life  and  char 
acter  of  Webster,  the  most  readable  are  perhaps  H.  N.  Hudson's 
"  Address  on  the  100th  Anniversary  of  Webster's  Birth"  (Ginn 
and  Co.),  and  the  article  "  Webster,"  in  the  ninth  edition  of  the 
"  Encyclopaedia  Britannica.''  Theodore  Parker's  "Discourse  on 
Webster  "  and  Choate's  "  Discourse  at  Dartmouth  College  "  are 
contemporary  estimates  of  the  man,  uttered  too  soon  after  his 
death  to  be  free  from  partiality  and  exaggeration.  A  calmer  survey 
of  Webster's  character  is  that  of  James  Parton  in  the  North  Amer 
ican  Review,  January,  1867,  re  published  in  "Famous  Americans 
of  Recent  Times."  With  Choate's  "  Discourse "  should  be 
compared  the  ''Eulogy  by  G.  S.  Hillard,"  and  the  "Oration  pro 
nounced  on  Webster  Commemoration  Day,  June  28,  1882,  at 
Dartmouth  College,"  by  Thos.  F.  Bayard. 

Several  volumes  of  anecdotes  and  recollections  appeared  during 
Webster's  life-time  or  immediately  after  his  death.  Among  the 
earliest  are  Chas.  Lanman's  "Private  Life  of  Webster,"  S.  L. 
Kuapp's  •'  Memoir  of  the  Life  of  Webster,"  C.  W.  March's  "  Remi 
niscences  of  Congress  "  and  ' '  Daniel  Webster  and  his  Contem 
poraries,"  and  S.  P.  Lyman's  "The  Public  and  Private  Life  of 
Daniel  Webster."  More  recently  has  appeared  Peter  Harvey's 
"Reminiscences  and  Anecdotes  of  Daniel  Webster,"  a  book  of 
great  interest,  although  pronounced  by  so  good  an  authority  as 
Mr.  Lodge  thoroughly  untrustworthy. 

Upon  the  deatli  of  Webster,  a  flood  of  sermons  and  memorial 
addresses  deluged  the  country.  Most  of  them  have  little  value 
and  indeed  are  not  available  for  consultation  save  in  great  public 
libraries.  A  few,  however,  are  worthy  of  remembrance,  and 
among  them  may  be  mentioned  T.  W.  Higgiuson's  •'  Elegy  with 
out  Fiction,"  reprinted  in  broadside  from  the  Boston  Daily  Spy, 
Thos.  Starr  King's  ''Death  of  Webster,"  John  Weiss's  "A  Dis 
course  occasioned  by  the  Deatli  of  Daniel  Webster,"  and  C.  A. 
Bartol's  "  The  Hand  of  God  in  the  Great  Man."  With  the  last 
may  be  compared  a  sermon  delivered  by  Dr.  Bartol  thirty  years 
later,  "  Webster  as  a  Man  and  Statesman." 

The  following  articles  in  magazines  are  of  value  :  Harper's 
Magazine.,  vol.  vi.,  p.  85  (illustrated),  vol.  lxiv.,p.  428  ;  Nineteenth 
Clentnry,  vol.  xxiv.,  p.  262  (by  Goldwin  Smith) ;  ./»Y«.sw'.s  Maga 
zine,  vol.  Ixxxii.,  p.  181;  Westminster  Review,  January,  1853; 


GKNKRAL  NOTE  127 

North  American  Rerieie,  vol.  xli.,  p.  231  (by  Everett)  ;  Century, 
vol.  vii.,  p.  721,  vol.  xxiv.,  p.  70'J  (with  fine  portraits  as  frontis 
pieces).  In  Education,  vol.  vi.,  p.  323,  is  an  article  on  Webster  as 
a  schoolmaster. 

A  rapid  survey  of  Webster's  life  and  work  to  the  year  1813  may 
be  found  in  McMaster's  "  History  of  the  People  of  the  United 
States,"  vol.  iv.,  pp.  213-216. 

5.  Critical   Estimates. — Estimates   of    Webster's   literary    and 
oratorical  powers  will  be  found  in  almost  all  of  the  works  to 
which  reference  has  been  made.     Criticisms  of  especial  interest 
are  E.  P.  Whipple's  "  Webster  as  a  Master  of  English  Style," 
prefixed    to    the   "Great    Speeches    of    Webster"   (also    in    his 
' '  American  Literature  "  ),  and  the  article,  "  A  Glance  at  Webster," 
by  Judge  Mellen  Chamberlain  in  the  Century  Magazine,  Septem 
ber,    1893,  p.   709.     The  student  may  also  consult   with  profit 
Richardson's  "American  Literature,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  221-227,  and 
Xichol's  "American  Literature,"  pp.  111-129. 

6.  Portraits  of  Webster. — The  best  likeness  of  Webster  at  the 
age  of  forty  is  said  by  Judge  Chamberlain  to  be  the  bust  by 
Powers  (reproduced  in  Webster's  "Works,"  vol.  ii.)  ;  the  best 
likeness  of  him  in  his  later  years  is  said  by  the  same  authority 
to  be  the  engraving  in  the   Century  Magazine,  September,  1893. 
There  is  also  a  fine  portrait  in  the  same  magazine  for  March,  1885. 
The  following  works  contain  portraits  of  various  degrees  of  ex 
cellence  :  Harvey's  •'  Reminiscences  ;  "  Lanman's  "  Private  Life 
of  Webster ;"  Kuapp's  "Memoir;"  Lyman's  "Public  and  Pri 
vate  Life  of  Webster  ;  "  March's  "  Reminiscences  of  Congress  ;  " 
"Works  of  Webster"  (ed.  of  1851),  vols.  i.,  ii.,  iv.  ;  Appleton's 
'•Cyclopaedia    of    American    Biography;"    T.    W.    Higginson's 
"  Larger  History  of  the  United  States,"  p.  445  (a  fine  reproduc 
tion   of  Healy's  painting  in  Faueuil  Hallj  ;  W.  C.    Wilkinson's 
"  W^ebster  :  An  Ode  "  ( large  paper  edition)  ;  and  Harper' 's  Maga 
zine,  vol.  vi.,  p.  85.     The  old  daguerreotypes  of  Webster  turn  up 
now  and  then  in  unexpected  places.     Pupils  should  be  encour 
aged  to  inquire  for  them  of  their  grandparents. 

7.  Poems   refer  rhuj  In    Webster. — Webster  is  the  subject  of  a 
poem  by  O.  W.  Holmes,  written  in  1856  on  Webster's  birthday, 
and  of  two  of  Whittier's  best  poems,  — "  Ichabod  ! "  and  "The 
Lost  Occasion."     Lowell  has  an  allusion  to  him  in  the  "  Biglow 


128  GENERAL  NOTE 

Papers,"  No.  ix.  The  most  elaborate  poetical  composition  of 
which  Webster  is  the  subject  is  "Webster:  An  Ode,"  by  Pro 
fessor  W.  C.  Wilkinson  (Chas.  Scribner's  Sons). 

8.  Parallel  Reading. — The  only  speeches  by   Webster  which 
properly  belong  to  the  same  class  as  those  in  the  present  collec 
tion  are  the  Plymouth  Oration  ("First  Settlement  of  New  Eng 
land"),    ''The   Lauding   at   Plymouth,"    the   remarks   on    the 
death  of  Judge  Story  and  Mr.  Mason,  and  the  speech  on  laying 
the  corner-stone  for  the  addition  to  the  Capitol,  in  1851. 

Specimens  of  commemorative  oratory  by  others,  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  these,  are  singularly  rare.  But  two  can  be  said 
to  rival  the  first  Bunker  Hill  address.  These  are  the  Funeral 
Oration  put  into  the  mouth  of  Pericles  by  the  historian  Thuey- 
dides  ( in  Book  ii.  ;  Jowett's  translation  is  the  best),  and  the 
Gettysburg  address  by  President  Lincoln. 

Compositions  dealing  with  some  of  the  same  subject-matter, 
though  belonging  to  a  different  type  of  oratory,  are  Burke's 
"Account  of  the  European  Settlements  in  America,"  "  Speech 
on  American  Taxation,"  and  "  Speech  on  Conciliation  with 
America." 

9.  Quotations  from  the  Classics. — Webster  quotes  from  Virgil's 
"Aeneid,"  vi.  726  (1  B.  H.  19),  from  Horace's  "Odes,"  I.,  ii.,  45 
(1  B.  H.  26),  from  Homer's  "Iliad,"  xvii.,  729,  in  Pope's  transla 
tion  (1  B.  H.  35),  from  Ovid's  "  Metamorphoses,"  ii.,  13  (2  B.  H. 
28),  from  Cicero's  "Offices,"  i.,  43  (A.  J.  23),  and  from  Tacitus' 
"  Life  of  Agricola,"  45  (A.  J.  60). 

10.  Quotations  from  English   Writers. — Webster   quotes   once 
from  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost,"  v.,  310  (1  B.  H.  13),  and  once 
(C.  W.  8)  from  Bishop  Berkeley's  "  On  the  Prospect  of  Planting 
Arts  and  Learning  in  America"  (omitting,  however,  the  oft-quoted 
line,  " Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way").     There 
are  two  quotations  from  Shakespeare  (.1.  J.  8,  44),  the  source  of 
which  the  pupil  may  profitably  discover  for  himself. 

11.  Quotations  from  American  Wrilei-s. — American  writers  are 
twice  quoted  (2  B.  H.  40,  C.  W.  17). 

12.  Biblical  Allusions. — Expressions  drawn  from  the  language 
of  the  bible,  or  suggested  by  scriptural  passages,  are  found  in 
four  places  (1  B.  H.  6;  A.  J.  44,46;    C.   W.  13).     Other  expres 
sions  which  echo  biblical  language  more  or  less  distinctly  are 


GENERAL  NOTE  -  129 

scattered  up  and  down  these  orations.      Let  the  pupil  search 
them  out. 

13.  Historical  References  :  General. — Should  the  reader  desire 
to  identify  a  name  or  a  place,  or  to  refresh  his  memory  regard 
ing  some  event,  he  is  recommended  to  make  use  of  the  following 
reference-books.     They  should  not   be   permitted,  however,  to 
supplant  consecutive  reading  of  standard  histories,  such  as  are 
cited  in  \\  14-22  below. 

(1)  The  Century  "Cyclopaedia  of  Names"  contains  short,  con 
cise  articles  on  persons  and  places.     It  is  edited  with  scholarly 
care  and  is  as  accurate  as  so  large  a  work  can  be  expected  to  be. 

(2)  J.  F.  Jameson's  "  Dictionary    of   United    States   History, 
1492-1884"  (Puritan  Pub.  Co.,  Boston),  though   designed   for 
popular  use,  is  on  the  whole  pretty  well  edited.     Since  the  book 
is  in  one  moderate-sized  volume,  most   of   the   articles   are   of 
necessity  short. 

(3j  A  recent  work  is,  J.  N.  Larned's  "  History  for  Beady  Ref 
erence  "  (5  vols.,  Springfield,  Mass.).  It  is  a  compilation  of 
selections  from  standard  authors,  arranged  under  appropriate 
topics.  Its  greatest  value  is  as  a  guide  to  historical  literature. 

(4)  Haydn's  "Dictionary  of  Dates"  (Harper)  contains  brief 
articles  on  an  immense  number,  of  facts  and  events. 

14.  References  to  American   History  :   Before  the  Revolution. — 
For  a  description  of  the  voyage  of  Columbus  the  reader  may 
consult   Irving's   "Life  of  Columbus,"   Bancroft's   "History  of 
America,"   and   Higginson's  "Young  Folks'  History,"  "Young 
Folks'  American  Explorers,"  and  "  Larger  History  of  the  United 
States."     Higginson  and  Bancroft  are  authorities  also  on  the  ex 
plorations  and  settlements  in  North  America  of  the  Spanish,  the 
French,  and  the  English.     On  the  Cabots  and  the  Pilgrim  Fa 
thers,  the  latest  views  may  be  obtained  by  reading  Higginson's 
"Larger  History,"  chaps,    iv.   and  vi.,    and   by  consulting   the 
elaborate  discussion  in  Justin  Winsor's   ' '  Narrative  and  Critical 
History  of  America,"  vol.   ii.     On  the  House  of  Burgesses,  see 
Frothingham's    "  Rise  of  the  Republic,"  pp.  16,    17,  and  Ban 
croft's   "History,"  vol.   i.     On  the  French   and  Indian  wars  a 
fresh  treatment  is  had  in   Higginson's    "  Larger  History  of  the 
United  States,"  chap,  vii.,   under  the  title  of    "The  Hundred 
Years'  War." 

9 


130  GKNEHAL  NOTE 

15.  The  Revolution. — Of  the  events   leading  to  the  revolution, 
that  are  mentioned  by  Webster,  such  as  the  writs  of  assistance, 
the  trial  of  the  British  soldiers,  the  change  in  the  government 
of  Massachusetts  and  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  readable  accounts 
may  be  found  in  Fiske's   "  American  Revolution,"  vol.   i.,  pp. 
1-99;  J.  R.  Green's   "Short  History  of  the  English  People," 
chap,  x.,   section  ii.,  Bancroft's    "History,"  vol.  iii.,  and  Hig- 
ginson's  "  Larger  History,"  chap.  ix.     More  popular  in  charac 
ter  is  B.   J.  Lossing's   "Field  Book  of  the  Revolution."      An 
elaborate  treatment  of  the  Revolutionary  period,  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  the  advanced  student,  may  be  had  in  Winsor's  "  Narra 
tive  and  Critical  History,"  vol.  vi. 

16.  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill. — The  most  simple  and  picturesque 
account  of  the  battle   is   in  the  Rev.    E.  E.    Hale's  "Story  of 
Massachusetts  ;  "  the  most  detailed,  iu  Frothingham's  "  History 
of  the  Siege  of  Boston."     In  Fiske's  "  American  Revolution," 
vol.  i.,  pp.  136-14:6,  and  Bancroft's  "History,"  vol.  iv.,  chaps.  38- 
40,  the  narrative  is  made  interesting,  and  in  Lossing's  •'  Field- 
Book  of  the  Revolution  "  it  is  given  the  advantage  of  unstinted 
illustration  and  word-painting. 

17.  Joseph  Warren. — A  day  in  the  life  of  Joseph  Warren  is 
the   subject  of    a   graphic  narrative    in    Higginson's    ''•  Larger 
History,"  pp.  247-250.     The  engraving  of  Warren  which  accom 
panies  it  reveals  in  some  degree  the  secret  of  the  love  and  con 
fidence  which  this  extraordinary   man  inspired  in  his  contem 
poraries. 

18.  The  Continental   Congress. — A  full  account  of  the  proceed 
ings  will  be  found  in  Bancroft's  "  History,"  vol.  v.,  and  Fiske's 
"  American  Revolution,"  vol.  i.,  chap.  iii.  ;  a  more  picturesque 
account  in  Higginson's  "Larger  History." 

19.  Speeches  in  the  Continental  Congress. — The  speeches  for  and 
against  the  Declaration  of  Independence  introduced  by  Web 
ster  into  the  oration  on  Adams  and  Jefferson,  were  by  many  of 
his  hearers  regarded  as  genuine  extracts  from  the  debates  of  the 
Continental  Congress.     In  order  to  remove  this  false  impression 
the  following  letter  written  by  Mr.  Webster  in  answer  to  an  in 
quiry  concerning  the  authenticity  of  John  Adams's  speech,  was 
published  in  the  edition  of  1851  : 


GENERAL   NOTE  131 

"I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  yonr  letter 
of  the  18th  instant.  Its  contents  hardly  surprise  me,  as  I  have 
received  very  many  similar  communications. 

"  Your  inquiry  is  easily  answered.  The  Congress  of  the  Rev 
olution  sat  with  closed  doors.  Its  proceedings  were  made 
known  to  the  public,  from  time  to  time,  by  printing  its  journal  ; 
but  the  debates  were  not  published.  So  far  as  I  know  there  is 
not  existing,  in  print  or  manuscript,  the  speech,  or  any  part  or 
any  fragment  of  the  speech,  delivered  by  Mr.  Adams  on  the 
question  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  We  only  know, 
from  the  testimony  of  his  auditors,  that  he  spoke  with  remark 
able  ability  and  characteristic  earnestness. 

.  "  The  day  after  the  Declaration  was  made,  Mr.  Adams,  in 
vriting  to  a  friend,  declared  the  event  to  be  one  that  '  ought  to 
e  commemorated,  as  the  day  of  deliverance,  by  solemn  acts  of 
devotion  to  God  Almighty.  It  ought  to  be  solemnized  with  pomp 
and  parade,  with  shows,  games,  sports,  guns,  bells,  bonfires,  and 
illuminations,  from  one  end  of  this  continent  to  the  other,  from 
this  time  forward,  for  evermore.' 

"  And  on  the  day  of  his  death,  hearing  the  noise  of  bells  and 
cannon,  he  asked  the  occasion.  On  being  reminded  that  it  was 
'  Independence  Day,'  he  replied,  '  Independence  forever ! ' 
These  expressions  were  introduced  into  the  speech  siqiposc* I 
to  have  been  made  by  him.  For  the  rest,  I  must  be  answer 
able.  The  speech  was  written  by  me,  in  my  house  in  Bos 
ton,  the  day  before  the  delivery  of  the  Discourse  in  Faneuil 
Hall  ;  a  poor  substitute,  I  am  sure  it  would  appear  to  be,  if  we 
could  now  see  the  speech  actually  made  by  Mr.  Adams  on  that 
trauscendently  important  occasion." 

The  opening  sentence  of  the  second  fictitious  speech  was 
taken  from  a  conversation  between  Adams  and  Jonathan  Sewall, 
reported  as  follows  by  Mr.  Adams  himself : 

"  Mr.  Sewall  invited  me  to  take  a  walk  with  him,  very  early  in 
the  morning,  on  the  great  hill.  In  the  course  of  our  rambles, 
he  very  soon  began  to  remonstrate  against  my  going  to  Congress. 
He  said,  that  '  Great  Britain  was  determined  on  her  system  ;  her 
power  was  irresistible,  and  would  certainly  be  destructive  to  me, 
and  to  all  those  who  should  persevere  in  opposition  to  her  de 
signs.'  I  answered,  '  that  I  knew  Great  Britain  was  determined 
on  her  system,  and  that  very  determination  determined  me  on 
mine  ;  that  he  knew  I  had  been  constant  and  uniform  in  opposi 
tion  to  all  her  measures  ;  that  the  die  was  now  cast ;  I  hail 
passed  the  Rubicon  ;  swim  or  sink,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish 
with  my  country,  was  my  unalterable  determination.'" — "  Works 
of  John  Adams,"  vol.  iv.,  p.  8. 


132  GENERAL  NOTE 

The  opening  of  a  speech  actually  delivered  seems  to  have  been 
very  different.  It  is  preserved  for  us  in  a  letter  written  by 
Adams  in  1807  : 

"  I  remember  very  well  what  I  did  say ;  but  I  will  previously 
state  a  fact  as  it  lies  in  my  memory,  which  may  be  somewhat  ex 
planatory  of  it.  In  the  previous  multiplied  debates  which  we 
had  upon  the  subject  of  independence,  the  delegates  from  New 
Jersey  had  voted  against  us  ;  their  constituents  were  informed  of 
it  and  recalled  them,  and  sent  us  a  new  set  on  purpose  to  vote  for 
independence.  Among  these  were  Chief-Justice  Stockton  and 
Dr.  Witherspoon.  In  a  morning  when  Congress  met,  we  expected 
the  question  would  be  put  and  carried  without  any  further  de 
bate  ;  because  we  knew  we  had  a  majority,  and  thought  that  argu 
ment  had  been  exhausted  on  both  sides,  as  indeed  it  was,  for 
nothing  new  was  ever  afterwards  advanced  on  either  side.  But 
the  Jersey  delegates,  appearing  for  the  first  time,  desired  that 
the  question  might  be  discussed.  We  observed  to  them  that  the 
question  was  so  public,  and  had  been  so  long  discussed  in  pam 
phlets,  newspapers,  and  at  every  fireside,  that  they  could  not  be 
uninformed  and  must  have  made  up  their  minds."  They  said  it 
was  true  they  had  not  been  inattentive  to  what  had  been  passing 
abroad,  but  they  had  not  heard  the  arguments  in  Congress,  and 
did  not  incline  to  give  their  opinions  until  they  should  hear  the 
sentiments  of  members  there.  Judge  Stockton  was  most  particu 
larly  importunate,  till  the  members  began  to  say  'Let  the  gentle 
men  be  gratified,'  and  the  eyes  of  the  assembly  were  turned  upon 
me,  and  several  of  them  said,  '  Come,  Mr.  Adams  ;  you  have  had 
the  subject  longer  at  heart  than  any  of  us,  and  you  must  recapit 
ulate  the  arguments.'  I  wa.s  somewhat  confused  at  this  personal 
application  to  me,  and  would  have  been  very  glad  to  be  excused  ; 
but  as  no  other  person  arose,  after  some  time  I  said,  '  This  is  the 
first  time  in  my  life  when  I  seriously  wished  for  the  genius  and 
eloquence  of  the  celebrated  orators  of  Athens  and  Rome:  called 
in  this  unexpected  and  unprepared  manner  to  exhibit  all  the  argu 
ments  in  favor  of  a  measure  the  most  important,  in  my  judgment, 
that  had  ever  been  discussed  in  civil  or  political  society.  I  had  no 
art  or  oratory  to  exhibit,  and  could  produce  nothing  but  simple 
reason  and  plain  common-sense.  I  felt  myself  oppressed  by  the 
weight  of  the  subject,  and  I  believed  if  Demosthenes  or  Cicero 
had  ever  been  called  to  deliberate  on  so  great  a  question,  neither 
would  have  relied  on  his  own  talents  without  a  supplication  to 
Minerva,  and  a  sacrifice  to  Mercury  or  the  God  of  Eloquence.' 
All  this,  to  be  sure,  was  but  a  flourish,  and  not,  as  I  conceive,  a 
very  bright  exordium  ;  but  I  felt  awkwardly.1' 

It  will  be  interesting  to  compare  with  the  speech  against  the 
Declaration  composed  by  Mr.  Webster,  an  argument  actually 


GKAKRAL  NOTE  133 

made  against  it  in  the  Congress  by  John  Dickinson,  this  being 
the  only  portion  of  the  debate  which  has  come  down  to  us  in  its 

entirety  : 

"I  value  the  love  of  my  country  as  I  ought,  but  I  value  my 
country  more ;  and  I  desire  this  illustrious  assembly  to  witness 
the  integrity,  if  not  the  policy,  of  my  conduct.  The  first  cam 
paign  will  be  decisive  of  the  controversy.  The  Declaration  will 
not  strengthen  us  by  one  man,  or  by  the  least  supply,  while  it 
may  expose  our  soldiers  to  additional  cruelties  and  outrages. 
Without  some  prelnsory  trials  of  our  strength,  we  ought  not  to 
commit  our  country  upon  an  alternative,  where  to  recede  would 
be  infamy,  and  to  persist  might  be  destruction. 

' '  No  instance  is  recollected  of  a  people  without  a  battle  fought, 
or  an  ally  gained,  abrogating  forever  their  connection  with  a  war 
like  commercial  empire.  It  might  unite  the  different  parties  in 
Great  Britain  against  us,  and  it  might  create  disunion  among  our 
selves. 

' '  With  other  powers  it  would  rather  injure  than  avail  us.  Foreign 
aid  will  not  be  obtained  but  by  our  actions  in  the  field,  which  are 
the  only  evidences  of  our  union  and  vigor  that  will  be  respected. 
In  the  war  between  the  United  Provinces  and  Spain,  France  and 
Kngland  assisted  the  provinces  before  they  declared  themselves 
independent  ;  if  it  is  the  interest  of  any  European  kingdom  to 
aid  us,  we  shall  be  aided  without  such  a  declaration  ;  if  it  is  not, 
we  shall  not  be  aided  with  it.  Before  such  an  irrevocable  step 
shall  be  taken,  we  ought  to  know  the  disposition  of  the  great 
powers,  and  how  far  they  will  permit  one  or  more  of  them  to  in 
terfere.  The  erection  of  an  independent  empire  on  this  continent 
is  a  phenomenon  in  the  world ;  its  effects  will  be  immense,  and 
may  vibrate  round  the  globe.  How  they  may  affect,  or  be  sup 
posed  to  affect,  old  establishments,  is  not  ascertained.  It  is  sin 
gularly  disrespectful  to  France  to  make  the  Declaration  before 
her  sense  is  known,  as  we  have  sent  an  agent  expressly  to  inquire 
whether  such  a  Declaration  would  be  acceptable  to  her,  and  we 
h.ive  reason  to  believe  he  is  now  arrived  at  the  Court  of  Versailles. 
The  measure  ought  to  be  delayed  till  the  common  interests  shall 
in  the  best  manner  be  consulted  by  common  consent.  Besides, 
the  door  to  accommodation  with  GreatBritain  ought  not  to  be  shut, 
until  we  know  what  terms  can  be  obtained  from  some  competent 
power.  Thus  to  break  with  her  before  we  have  compacted  with 
another,  is  to  make  experiments  on  the  lives  and  liberties  of  my 
countrymen,  which  I  would  sooner  die  than  agree  to  make.  At 
best,  it  is  to  throw  us  into  the  hands  of  some  other  power  and  to 
lie  at  mercy,  for  we  shall  have  passed  the  river  that  is  never  to  be 
repassed.  We  ought  to  retain  the  Declaration  and  remain  masters 
of  our  own  fame  and  fate.'' 


134:  GEXERAr,   SOTE 

20.  Washington. — For  the   life  and  character  of  Washington, 
consult  Irving's  "Life  of  George  Washington,"  Marshall's  "  Life 
of  Washington,"  and  Lodge's  "Washington"   in  the  American 
Statesmen  Series. 

21.  After   the    Revolution;     Washington's    Farewell   Aililrens. — 
The  address  is  printed  in  full  in  Sparks's  edition  of  the  "  Writ 
ings  of  Washington,"  vol.  xi.,  pp.  214-235. 

22.  The  Monroe  Doctrine. — A   brief   statement   of    the   mean 
ing  and  origin  of  this  measure   may  be  found  in  Higginson's 
"  Larger  History,"  p.  403.     The  most   detailed  consideration  of 
the  subject  is  that  given   by  President  Oilman  in  his  "  Life  of 
James  Monroe,"  chap.  viii.     See  also  Webster's  "  Speech  on  the 
Panama  Mission." 


B.  SUBJECTS   FOR  ESSAYS 

23.  The  Life  of  Webster.  —  [For  the  sources  of  Webster's  biog 
raphy,  see  |  4  above.]  1.  Webster's  parents.  2.  Webster's 
school-days.  3.  Webster  at  Dartmouth.  4.  Webster  as  a  school 
master.  5.  How  Webster  refused  the  clerkship.  6.  Webster's 
Fourth  of  July  orations.  (For  the  Hanover  speech  see  Loring's 
"Hundred  Boston  Orators,"  p.  683.)  7.  How  Webster  was  in 
fluenced  by  Mason.  8.  How  Webster  won  his  law-suits.  9. 
Webster's  politics.  (On  political  parties  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century,  see  Higginson's  "  Larger  History,"  chaps,  xiv.-xvi.)  10. 
Webster's  first  appearance  in  Congress.  11.  Webster's  attitude 
toward  the  war  of  1812.  12.  Story  of  the  Dartmouth  College 
Case.  13.  The  scene  in  the  Supreme  Court  at  the  trial  of  this 
case.  (See  Lodge's  "Webster,"  p.  89,  and  Choate's  "Address  at 
Dartmouth.")  14.  How  was  this  case  connected  with  the  Con 
stitution  ?  15.  Effect  of  the  Plymouth  Oration.  1(5.  What  did 
Webster  accomplish  in  his  third  congressional  term?  17.  Web 
ster's  reputation  at  the  time  the  "  First  Bunker  Hill  Oration  " 
was  delivered.  18.  Events  in  Webster's  life  between  the  first 
and  the  second  Bunker  Hill  address.  19.  Circumstances  of 
the  "  Reply  to  Hayne."  20.  Occasion  of  the  "  7th  of  March 
Speech."  21.  Effect  of  this  speech.  22.  Was  Webster  lacking 
in  moral  courage  ?  23.  Why  Webster  was  not  nominated  to  the 


UESERAL  XOTE  135 

presidency.     24.  Webster's  friends.     25.  Public  offices  held  by 
Webster. 

24.  Personal  Characteristics, — 1.  Describe  a  portrait   of   Web 
ster.     2.  Compare  two  portraits  of  Webster.     3.  Compare  a  por 
trait  of  Webster  with  a  portrait  of    Burke,  of  Pitt,    of  Fox,  of 
Wendell  Phillips,  of  Sumner,  of  Lincoln.    4.  Webster's  gestures. 
5.  Character  of  Webster's  voice.     (See  Curtis's   "Life   of  Web 
ster,"  vol.  i.,  p.  249,  note.)      6.  Anecdotes  illustrating  the  power 
of  Webster's  personality. 

25.  Webster's   Opinions. — 1.  Was  Webster  a  protectionist  or  a 
free-trader?     2.  What    claim    had    Webster    to    the    title    "De 
fender  of  the  Constitution  ?  "     3.  What  were  Webster's  views  on 
slavery?      4.  What    did    Webster    think    of   paper   money?      5. 
Webster's  idea  of  a  national  bank.     6.  Webster's  opinion  of  the 
Monroe  Doctrine.     7.  Webster's  opinion  of  classical  literature. 
H.  Why  Webster  was  opposed  to  secession.     9.  Webster's  view 
of  the  value  of  knowledge.     10.   Webster's  optimism.     11.  Web 
ster's  conception  of  patriotism. 

26.  The  First  Bunker   Hill  Oration. — 1.  The  scene  during  the 
address,   described    by  an   eye-witness.     2.  Impressions   of   the 
speech  related  by  a  survivor  of  the  battle.     3.  Character  of  the 
audience.    4.  Divisions  and  subdivisions  of  the  oration.    5.  Pur 
pose  of  the   introduction.      (Compare  with  the  introductions  of 
the    other    orations.)     (5.    Appropriateness    of    the    conclusion. 
(Compare  with   the  conclusions    of  the  other  orations.)     7.   Is 
Lodge  Cp.  124)  right  in  calling  this  oration  "a  succession  of  elo 
quent  fragments  ?  "     8.   What  parts  may  be  most  easily  omitted  ? 
9.  Show  that  the  second   (or  any   other)  paragraph  cannot  be 
omitted  without  disturbing  the  continuity  and  proportion  of  the 
whole.     10.  What   is  the  effect  of  putting   the  sixth  paragraph 
first?     If  this  change  is  made,  what  other  changes  will  be  called 
for?     11.  Why  is  not  the  description  of  the  battle  in  paragraph 
12  inserted  after  paragraph  20  ?     12.  Function  of  paragraph  23. 
13.  Management  of  parallel  construction.     14.  Employment  of 
the  topic-sentence.     15.  Cases  of  inverted  structure  and  reasons 
for  them.     16.  According  to  Professor  Wendell  (  "  English  Com 
position,"    p.    271),    "there    is   no   mere    technical    device    for 
strengthening  style  more  apt  to  be  of  value  than  the  deliberate 
weakening  of  passages  you  have  written  in  your  very  strongest 


13G  GENERAL  NOTE 

way."  Detect  if  you  can,  passages  in  this  oration  in  which  Web 
ster,  in  order  to  strengthen  his  style,  has  deliberately  weakened 
it.  17.  In  paragraph  7  why  does  Webster  say  "labor  may  look 
up  "  instead  of  "  the  laborer  may  look  up?"  Which  is  the  more 
effective  form  of  statement  ?  18.  Webster's  use  of  "  only."  19. 
Webster's  use  of  "  and  which,"  "  but  which,"  without  a  preced 
ing  relative.  20.  Webster's  use  of  the  word  "respectable."  (See 
the  Nation  for  July  4,  1895.)  21.  Discuss  the  changes  made 
in  the  later  text  and  show  in  what  respect  they  are  improve 
ments.  22.  To  what  peculiarities  of  arrangement  is  due  the 
rhythm  of  Webster's  prose  ? 

27.  Historical  Topics :   First  Bunker  Hill  Oration.— \.    The  true 
story  of  Columbus.     2.  In  what  sense  were  the  English  Colonies 
founded  on  "  human  knowledge"  (par.  4)?    4.  Why  may  not  the 
reference  in  paragraph  4  to  "another  ancient  and  early  colony," 
be  to  the  Viginia  settlement  on  the  James  Kiver  ?   5.  What  was  the 
size  and  importance  of  our  navy  in  1825  (par.  38)  ?     6.  Changes 
in  European  politics  brought  about  by  the  French  Revolution 
(par.  9).     7.  Origin  and  meaning  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine.     8. 
Description  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker   Hill  by  an  eye-witness  in 
Boston.     Description  by  a  participant  in  the  Battle  (see  appendix 
to  Frothingham's  ''Siege  of  Boston'').     9.  What  part  did  the 
ships  take  in  the  battle  ?     10.  Part  taken  by  Prescott  ?   by  Put 
nam?   Outcome  of  the  battle.     11.  Description  of  the  portrait  of 
Gen.  Warren  in  Higginson's  "Larger  History,"  p.  247.     12.  Why 
was  Warren  regarded  at  this  time  with  so  much  love  and  venera 
tion?     13.  Results  of  the  battle  of  Trenton?  of  Monniouth  ?  of 
Yorktown  ?  of  Carnden  ?  of  Bennington  ?  of  Saratoga  ?    14.  How 
was  "  The  act  for  altering  the  government  of  the  Province"  (par. 
18)  carried  into  effect?    15.  Provisions  and  purpose  of  the  Boston 
Port  Bill.     16.   Origin  and  constitution  of  the  Continental  Con 
gress.     17.  What  were  the  tidings  from  Lexington  and  Concord 
(par.  19)  ?     18.  What  appeals,  resolutions,  and  addresses  (par.  21) 
had  been  made  by  the  Colonies  ?     19.  Part  taken  by  Gen.  Lafa 
yette  in  the  Revolutionary  war.     20.   How  is  the  use  of  the  word 
"incredible"  (par.  25)  appropriate  in  its  application  to  the  dili 
gence  of  Prescott  ?     21.   Part  taken  in  the  Revolution  by  Greene  ? 
by  Gates  ?  by  Sullivan  ?  by  Lincoln  ? 

28.  Historical  Topics  :  Second  Bunker  Hill  Oration. — 1.  Is  Web- 


GENERAL  NOTE  137 

stcr's  explanation  (pars.  12,  20)  of  the  motives  of  the  battle  the 
true  one?  2.  The  effect  of  news  of  the  battle  on  the  various 
colonies.  3.  Attempts  at  colonizing  by  the  English,  under  Henry 
VII.  (par.  26).  4.  The  enterprises  and  adventures  of  Raleigh 
(par.  27).  5.  Story  of  the  voyage  of  the  Mayflower  (par.  28). 
I).  Difference  between  those  who  settled  New  England  and  those 
\vlio  settled  Virginia.  7.  How  did  the  French  and  Indian  wars 
serve  to  unite  the  interests  of  the  Colonies  (par.  29)  ?  8.  Nature 
and  importance  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  (pars.  38,  41). 
!).  Powers  of  the  governors  of  the  early  New  England  Colonies. 
10.  Meaning  and  history  of  the  habeas  corpus.  11.  In  what  colo 
nies  were  the  rights  of  primogeniture  recognized  (par.  39)?  12. 
Washington's  education  (par.  53).  13.  Influence  of  Washington 
in  the  framing  of  the  Constitution. 

29.  Historical  Topics:  Adams  and  Jefferson. — 1.  Part  taken  by 
James  Otis  in  the  Revolution  (par.  15).  2.  Origin  and  History  of 
the  Continental  Congress.  3.  Adams's  part  in  the  Congress.  4. 
How  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  composed  and  modi 
fied.  (A  fac-simile  of  the  original  draft,  with  Franklin's  and 
Adams's  interlineations,  and  indication  of  the  parts  stricken  out 
by  the  Congress,  may  be  found  in  the  "  Waitings  of  Jefferson," 
vol.  1).  5.  Narrative  of  the  signing  of  the  Declaration. 


LONGMANS'  ENGLISH  CLASSICS 


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This  series  is  designed  for  use  in  secondary  schools 
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THE  SIR  ROGER  DE  COVERLEY  PAPERS,  from  "The  Spectator." 
Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by  D.  O.  S.  Lowell,  A.M., 
of  the  Roxhury  Latin  School,  Roxbury,  Mass.  With  Portrait 
of  Addison. 

GOLDSMITH'S  THE  VICAR  OF  WAKEFIELD.  Edited,  with  intro 
duction  and  notes,  by  Mary  A.  Jordan,  A.M.,  Professor  of 
Rhetoric  and  Old  English  in  Smith  College.  With  Portrait  of 
Goldsmith. 

COLERIDGE'S  THE  RIME  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MARINER.  Edited, 
with  introduction  and  notes,  by  Herbert  Bates,  A.B.,  Instructor 
in  English  in  the  University  of  Nebraska.  With  Portrait  of 
Coleridge. 

SOUTHEY'S  LIFE  OF  NELSON.  Edited,  with  introduction  arid 
notes,  by  Edwin  L.  Miller,  A.M.,  of  the  Englewood  High 
School,  Illinois.  With  Portrait  of  Nelson  and  plans  of  battles. 

CARLYLE'S  ESSAY  ON  BURNS.  Edited,  with  introduction  and 
notes,  by  Wilson  Farrand,  A.M.,  Associate  Principal  of  the 
Newark  Academy,  Newark,  N.  J.  With  Portrait  of  Burns. 

FOR  STUDY. 

SHAKSPERE'S  MACBETH.  Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes, 
by  John  Matthews  Manly,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  the  English 
Language  in  Brown  University.  With  Portrait  of  Shakspere. 

BURKE'S  SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATION  WITH  AMERICA.  Edited, 
with  introduction  and  notes,  by  Albert  S.  Cook,  Ph.D.,  Pro 
fessor  of  the  English  Language  and  Literature  in  Yale 
University.  With  Portrait  of  Burke. 

DE  OUINCEY'S  FLIGHT  OF  A  TARTAR  TRIBE.  Edited,  with  intro 
duction  and  notes,  by  Charles  Sears  Baldwin,  Ph.D.,  Instructor 
in  Rhetoric  in  Yale  University.  With  Portrait  of  De  Quincey. 

TENNYSON'S  THE  PRINCESS.  Edited  with  Introduction  and 
Notes  by  George  Edward  Wood  berry,  A.B.,  Professor  of 
Literature  in  Columbia  College.  With  Portrait  of  Tennyson. 


LONGMANS'  ENGLISH   CLASSICS 


"Books  Prescribed  for  the  1899  Examinations. 

POPE'S  HOMER'S  ILIAD.  BOOKS  I.,  VI.,  XXII.,  AND  XXIV. 
Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by  William  H.  Maxwell, 
A.M.,  Ph.D.,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  and  Percival  Chubb,  Instructor  in  English,  Manual 
Training-  High  School,  Brooklyn.  With  Portrait  of  Pope. 

DRYDEN'S  PALAMON  AND  ARCITE.  Edited,  with  introduction 
and  notes,  by  James  W.  Bright,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  English 
Philology  in  Johns  Hopkins  University.  [Preparing. 

THE  SIR  ROGER  DE  COVERLEY  PAPERS,  from  "The  Spectator." 
Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by  D.  O.  S.  Lowell,  A.M., 
of  the  Roxbury  Latin  School,  Roxbury,  Mass.  With  Portrait 
of  Addison. 

GOLDSMITH'S  THE  VICAR  OF  WAKEFIELD.  Edited,  with  intro 
duction  and  notes,  by  Mary  A.  Jordan,  A.M.,  Professor  of 
Rhetoric  and  Old  English  in  Smith  College.  With  Portrait  of 
Goldsmith. 

COLERIDGE'S  THE  RIME  OF  THE  ANCIENT  MARINER.  Edited, 
with  introduction  and  notes,  by  Herbert  Bates,  A.B.,  Instructor 
in  English  in  the  University  of  Nebraska.  With  Portrait  of 
Coleridge. 

DE  OUINCEY'S  FLIGHT  OF  A  TARTAR  TRIBE.  Edited,  with  intro 
duction  and  notes,  by  Charles  Sears  Baldwin,  Ph.D.,  Instructor 
in  Rhetoric  in  Yale  University.  With  Portrait  of  De  Quincey. 

COOPER'S  THE  LAST  OF  THE  MOHICANS.  With  introduction  and 
explanatory  notes.  [In  preparation. 

FOR  STUDY. 

SHAKSPERE'S  MACBETH.  Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes, 
by  John  Matthews  Manly,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  the  English 
Language  in  Brown  University.  With  Portrait  of  Shakspere. 

MILTON'S  PARADISE  LOST.  BOOKS  I.  AND  II.  Edited,  with 
introduction  and  notes,  by  Edward  Everett  Hale,  Jr.,  Ph.D., 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Logic  in  Union  College.  With 
Portrait  of  Milton. 


LONGMANS'  ENGLISH  CLASSICS 


Books  Prescribed  for  i8gg — Continued. 

BURKE'S  SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATION  WITH  AMERICA.  Edited, 
with  introduction  and  notes,  by  Albert  S.  Cook,  Ph.D.,  Pro 
fessor  of  the  English  Language  and  Literature  in  Yale  Univer 
sity.  With  Portrait  of  Burke. 

CARLYLE'S  ESSAY  ON  BURNS.  Edited,  with  introduction  and 
notes,  by  Wilson  Farrand,  A.M.,  Associate  Principal  of  the 
Newark  Academy,  Newark,  N.  J.  With  Portrait  of  Burns. 

Books  Prescribed  for  the  1900  Examinations. 

(See  also  Preceding  Lists.) 
FOR  READING. 

DRYDEN'S  PALAMON  AND  ARCITE.  Edited  by  Professor  J.  W. 
Bright. 

POPE'S  HOMER'S  ILIAD.  BOOKS  I.,  VI.,  XXII.,  AND  XXIV. 
Edited  by  Superintendent  Maxwell  and  Percival  Chubb. 

THE  SIR  ROGER  DE  COVERLEY  PAPERS.  Edited  by  Dr.  D.  O.  S. 
Lowell. 

GOLDSMITH'S  THE  VICAR  OF  WAKEFIELD.  Edited  by  Professor 
Mary  A.  Jordan. 

DE  QUINCEY'S  FLIGHT  OF  A  TARTAR  TRIBE.  Edited  by  Dr.  C. 
S.  Baldwin. 

TENNYSON'S  THE  PRINCESS.  Edited  by  Professor  G.  E.  Wood- 
berry. 

SCOTT'S   IVANHOE.  /;/  preparation. 

COOPER'S  THE  LAST  OF  THE  MOHICANS.  [/«  preparation. 

FOR  STUDY. 

SHAKSPERE'S  MACBETH.     Edited  by  Professor  Manly. 

MILTON'S  PARADISE  LOST.  BOOKS  I.  AND  II.  Edited  by  Pro 
fessor  E.  E.  Hale,  Jr. 

BURKE'S  SPEECH  ON  CONCILIATION  WITH  AMERICA.  Edited  by 
Dr.  A.  S.  Cook. 

MACAULAY'S  ESSAYS  ON  MILTON  AND  ADDISON. 


LONGMANS  ENGLISH  CLASSfCS 


The  following  volumes  are  also  ready  : 

SCOTT'S  WOODSTOCK.  Edited,  with  introduction  and  notes,  by 
Bliss  Perry,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Oratory  and  ^Esthetic  Criticism 
in  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  With  Portrait  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott. 

MACAUI.AY'S  ESSAY  ON  MILTON.  Edited,  with  introduction  and 
notes,  by  James  Greenleaf  Croswell,  A.B.,  Head-master  of  the 
Brearley  School,  New  York,  formerly  Assistant  Professor  of 
Greek  in  Harvard  University.  With  Portrait  of  Macaulay. 

SIIAKSPERK'S  A  MIDSUMMER  NIGHT'S  DREAM.  Edited,  with 
introduction  and  notes,  by  George  Pierce  Baker,  A.B.,  Assistant 
Professor  of  English  in  Harvard  University.  With  Frontispiece, 
'Imitation  of  an  Elizabethan  Stage.' 

WEBSTER'S  FIRST  BUNKER  HILL  ORATION,  together  with  other 
Addresses  relating  to  the  Revolution.  Edited,  with  introduction 
and  notes,  by  Fred  Newton  Scott,  Ph.D.,  Junior  Professor  of 
Rhetoric  in  the  University  of  Michigan.  With  Portrait  of 
Daniel  Webster. 

MILTON'S  L/ALLEGRO,  IL  PEKSEROSO,  COMUS,  AND  LYCIDAS. 
Edited,  with  introductions  and  notes,  by  William  P.  Trent,  A.M., 
Professor  of  English  in  the  University  of  the  South.  With 
Portrait  of  Milton. 


"  The  series  as  a  whole  certainly  marks  ...  a  clear  advance 
beyond  all  its  predecessors." — 77/6'  Educational  Review,  February,  1896. 

"  We  have  seen  no  fitter  school  editions  of  these  works  which  are 
now  included  in  the  preparatory  reading  required  by  all  the  leading 
colleges  of  the  country." — The  Critic,  New  York. 

"  The  Suggestions  for  Teachers  are  likely  to  be  of  great  value,  not 
only  because  many  teachers  need  assistance  in  such  work,  but  also 
because  they  must  tend  to  introduce  the  uniformity  of  method  that  is 
hardly  less  valuable  than  the  uniformity  of  the  courses  themselves." 

—  The  Educational  Review,  February,  1896. 

"  I  take  great  pleasure  in  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  two 
beautiful  volumes  in  your  ENGLISH  CLASSICS.  .  .  .  They  are  not 
only  thoroughly  well  edited,  but  excellent  specimens  of  book-making, 
such  books  as  a  student  may  take  pleasure  in  having,  not  merely  for  a 
task  book  but  for  a  permanent  possession.  It  is  a  wise  project  on  your 
part,  I  think,  to  accustom  young  students  to  value  books  for  their 
intrinsic  worth,  and  that  by  the  practical  way  of  making  the  books  good 
and  attractive." — PKOK.  JOHN  F,  (JiCNUMi,  Amherst  College. 


8  LONGMANS'   ENGLISH  CLASSICS 

"  You  are  to  be  congratulated  upon  the  excellence  of  the  series  of 
ENGLISH  CLASSICS  which  you  are  now  publishing,  if  I  may  judge  of  it 
by  the  three  numbers  I  have  examined.  ...  Of  these,  the  intro 
ductions,  the  suggestions  to  teachers,  the  chronological  tables,  and  the 
notes  are  most  admirable  in  design  and  execution.  The  editor-in-chief 
and  his  associates  have  rendered  a  distinct  service  to  secondary  schools, 
and  the  publishers  have  done  superior  mechanical  work  in  the  issue  of 
this  series." — CHARLES  C.  RAMSAY,  Principal  of  Durfee  High  School, 
Fall  River,  Mass. 

"  With  the  two  (volumes)  I  have  already  acknowledged  and  these 
four,  I  find  myself  increasingly  pleased  as  I  examine.  As  a  series  the 
books  have  two  strong  points:  there  is  a  unity  of  method  in  editing  that 
I  have  seen  in  no  other  series;  the  books  are  freer  from  objections  in 
regard  to  the  amount  and  kind  of  editing  than  any  other  series  I  know." 
— BYRON  GROCE,  Master  in  English,  Boston  Latin  School. 

"  I  am  your  debtor  for  two  specimens  of  your  series  of  ENGLISH 
CLASSICS,  designed  for  secondary  schools  in  preparation  for  entrance 
examinations  to  college.  With  their  clear  type,  good  paper,  sober  and 
attractive  binding — good  enough  for  any  library  shelves — with  their 
introductions,  suggestions  to  teachers,  and  notes  at  the  bottom  of  the 
pages,  I  do  not  see  how  much  more  could  be  desired." 

— Prof.  D.  L.  MAULSRY,  Tufts  College. 

"Admirably  adapted  to  accomplish  what  you  intend — to  interest 
young  persons  in  thoughtful  reading  of  noble  literature.  The  help  given 
seems  just  what  is  needed;  its  generosity  is  not  of  the  sort  to  make  the 
young  student  unable  to  help  himself.  I  am  greatly  pleased  with  the  plan 
and  with  its  execution." — Prof.  C.  B.  BRADLEY,  University  of  California; 
Member  of  English  Conference  of  the  National  Committee  of  Ten. 

"  Let  me  thank  you  for  four  more  volumes  of  your  excellent  series 
of  ENGLISH  CLASSICS.  .  .  .  As  specimens  of  book-making  they  are 
among  the  most  attractive  books  I  have  ever  seen  for  school  use;  and  the 
careful  editing  supplies  just  enough  information  to  stimulate  a  young 
reader.  I  hope  that  the  series  may  soon  be  completed  and  be  widely 
used." — Prof.  W.  E.  MEAD,  W7esleyan  University. 

"The  series  is  admirably  planned,  the  'Suggestions  to  Teachers' 
being  a  peculiarly  valuable  feature.  I  welcome  all  books  looking  toward 
better  English  teaching  in  the  secondary  schools." 

— Prof.  KATHERINE  LEE  BATES,  Wellesley  College. 

"  They  are  thoroughly  edited  and  attractively  presented,  and  cannot 
fail  to  be  welcome  when  used  for  the  college  entrance  requirements  in 
English." — Prof.  CHARLES  F.  RICHARDSON,  Dartmouth  College. 


LONGMANS'    ENGLISH  CLASSICS 


IRVING'S  '  TALES  OF  A  TRAVELLER.' 

"  I  feel  bound  to  say  that,  if  the  series  of  ENGLISH  CLASSICS  is 
carried  out  after  the  plan  of  this  initial  volume,  it  will  contribute  much 
toward  making  the  study  of  literature  a  pure  delight." 

— Prof.  A.  G.  NEWCOMER,  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University. 

"  I  have  looked  through  the  first  volume  of  your  ENGLISH  CLASSICS, 
Irving's  '  Tales  of  a  Traveller,'  and  do  not  see  how  literature  could  be 
made  more  attractive  to  the  secondary  schools." — Prof.  EDWARD  A. 
ALLEN,  University  of  Missouri  ;  Member  of  the  English  Conference  of 
the  National  Committee  of  Ten. 

"  I  have  received  your  Irving's  'Tales of  a  Traveller'  and  examined 
it  with  much  pleasure.  The  helpful  suggestions  to  teachers,  the 
judicious  notes,  the  careful  editing,  and  the  substantial  binding  make  it 
the  most  desirable  volume  for  class  use  on  the  subject,  that  has  come  to 
my  notice." — EDWIN  CORNELL,  Principal  of  Central  Valley  Union 
School,  N.  Y. 

GEORGE  ELIOT'S  '  SILAS  MARKER.' 

"This  book  is  really  attractive  and  inviting.  The  introduction, 
particularly  the  suggestions  to  pupils  and  teachers,  is  a  piece  of  real 
helpfulness  and  wisdom." 

— D.  E.  BOWMAN,  Principal  of  High  School,  Waterville,  Me. 

"The  edition  of  'Silas  Marner'  recently  sent  out  by  you  leaves 
nothing  undone.  I  find  the  book  handsome,  the  notes  sensible  and 
clear.  I'm  glad  to  see  a  book  so  well  adapted  to  High  School  needs, 
and  I  shall  recommend  it,  without  reserve,  as  a  safe  and  clean  book  to 
put  before  our  pupils." 

— JAMES  W.  McLANE,  Central  High  School,  Cleveland,  O. 

SCOTT'S  '  WOODSTOCK.' 

"  Scott's  '  Woodstock,'  edited  by  Professor  Bliss  Perry,  deepens  the 
impression  made  by  the  earlier  numbers  that  this  series,  LONGMANS' 
ENGLISH  CLASSICS,  is  one  of  unusual  excellence  in  the  editing,  and  will 
prove  a  valuable  auxiliary  in  the  reform  of  English  teaching  now 
generally  in  progress.  .  .  .  We  have,  in  addition  to  the  unabridged 
text  of  the  novel,  a  careful  editorial  introduction  ;  the  author's  intro 
duction,  preface  and  notes  ;  a  reprint  of  '  The  Just  Devil  of  Woodstock'; 
and  such  foot-notes  as  the  student  will  need  as  he  turns  from  page  to 
page.  Besides  all  this  apparatus,  many  of  the  chapters  have  appended 
a  few 'suggestive  hints  for  character-study,  collateral  reading  and  dis 
cussions  of  the  art  of  fiction.  All  this  matter  is  so  skillfully  distributed 
that  it  does  not  weigh  upon  the  conscience,  and  is  not  likely  to  make  the 


LONGMANS'   ENGLISH  CLASSICS 


student  forget  that  he  is,  after  all,  reading  a  novel  chiefly  for  the 
pleasure  it  affords.  The  entire  aim  of  this  volume  and  its  companions 
is  literary  rather  than  historical  or  linguistic,  and  in  this  fact  their  chief 
value  is  to  be  found."  — The  Dial. 

"I  heartily  approve  of  the  manner  in  which  the  editor's  work  has 
been  done.  This  book,  if  properly  used  by  the  teacher  and  supple 
mented  by  the  work  so  clearly  suggested  in  the  notes,  may  be  made  of 
great  value  to  students,  not  only  as  literature  but  as  affording  oppor 
tunity  for  historical  research  and  exercise  in  composition." 

— LILLIAN  G.   KIMBALL,  State  Normal  School,  Oshkosh,  Wis. 

DEFOE'S  'HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAGUE  IN  LONDON.' 

"Pie  gives  an  interesting  biography  of  Defoe,  an  account  of  his 
works,  a  discussion  of  their  ethical  influence  (including  that  of  this 
'somewhat  sensational'  novel),  some  suggestions  to  teachers  and  students, 
and  a  list  of  references  for  future  study.  This  is  all  valuable  and  sugges 
tive.  The  reader  wishes  that  there  were  more  of  it.  Indeed,  the  criticism 
I  was  about  to  offer  on  this  series  is  perhaps  their  chief  excellence. 
One  wishes  that  the  introductions  were  longer  and  more  exhaustive. 
For,  contrary  to  custom,  as  expressed  in  Gratiano's  query,  'Who  riseth 
from  a  feast  with  that  keen  appetite  that  he  sits  down  ? '  the  young 
student  will  doubtless  finish  these  introductions  hungering  for  more. 
And  this,  perhaps,  was  the  editor's  object  in  view,  viz. ,  that  the  intro 
ductory  and  explanatory  matter  should  be  suggestive  and  stimulating 
rather  than  complete  and  exhaustive  !  " — Educational  Review. 

"  I  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  examining  your  edition  of  Defoe's 
Plague  in  London.'  The  introduction  and  notes  are  beyond  reproach, 
and  the  binding  and  typography  are  ideal.  The  American  school-boy 
is  to  be  congratulated  that  he  at  length  may  study  his  English  from 
books  in  so  attractive  a  dress." — GEORGE  N.  MCKNIGHT,  Instructor  in 
English,  Cornell  University. 

"  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  the  copy  of  the  'Journal  of  the 
Plague.'  I  am  particularly  pleased  with  Professor  Carpenter's  intro 
duction  and  his  handling  of  the  difficult  points  in  Defoe's  life." — HAM 
MOND  LAMONT,  A.B.,  Associate  Professor  of  Composition  and  Rhetoric 
in  Brown  University. 

MACAULAY'S  '  ESSAY  ON  MILTON.' 

"  I  have  examined  the  Milton  and  am  much  pleased  with  it ;  it  fully 
sustains  the  high  standard  of  the  other  works  of  this  series  ;  the  intro 
duction,  the  suggestions  to  teachers,  and  the  notes  are  admirable." 

— WILLIAM  NICHOLS,  The  Nichols  School,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


LONGMANS'  ENGLISH  CLASSICS 


"  1  beg:  to  acknowledge  with  thanks  the  receipt  of  Macaulay's 
'  Essay  on  Milton  '  and  Webster's  '  First  Bunker  Hill  Oration  '  in  your 
series  of  ENGLISH  CLASSICS.  These  works  for  preparatory  study  are 
nowhere  better  edited  or  presented  in  more  artistic  form.  I  am  glad  you 
find  it  possible  to  publish  so  good  a  book  for  so  little  money." 

— Prof.  NY.  II.  CRAWSHAW,  Colgate  University. 

"  I  am  especially  pleased  with  Mr.  Croswell's  introduction  to,  and 
notes  at  the  bottom  of  the  page  of,  his  edition  of  Macaulay's  '  Essay  on 
Milton.'  I  have  never  seen  notes  on  a  text  that  were  more  admirable 
than  these.  They  contain  just  the  information  proper  to  impart,  and 
are  unusually  well  expressed." 

— CHARLES  C.  RAMSAY,  Principal  of  Fall  River  High  School. 

COLERIDGE'S  'ANCIENT  MARINER.' 

"  After  an  introduction  which  is  well  calculated  to  awaken  interest 
both  in  Coleridge  himself  and  in  poetry  as  a  form  of  literature,  the 
poem  is  set  before  us  with  Coleridge's  own  glosses  in  the  margin.  Notes 
are  added  at  the  bottom  of  each  page.  These  notes  are  well  worth 
examination  for  the  pedagogic  skill  they  display.  They  provide,  not  so 
much  information  about  the  text,  though  all  necessary  explanation  does 
appear,  but  suggestion  and  incitement  to  the  discovery  by  the  pupil  for 
himself  of  the  elements  in  the  poem  which  the  hasty  reader  only  feels,  if 
he  does  not  lose  them  altogether.  .  .  .  Any  good  teacher  will  find 
this  edition  a  veritable  help  to  the  appreciation  of  poetry  by  his  pupils." 
— Principal  RAY  GREENE  HULING,  English  High  School,  Cambridge, 
Mass. 

"  Mr.  Bates  is  an  interesting  and  charming  writer  of  verse  as  well  as 
prose,  and  makes  a  helpful  and  appreciative  teacher  to  follow  through 
the  intricacies  of  the  poem  in  question.  In  addition  to  extensive  notes 
and  comments,  the  book  has  a  well-planned,  brightly  written  introduc 
tion,  comprising  a  Coleridge  biography,  bibliography,  and  chronological 
table,  a  definition  of  poetry  in  general,  and  a  thoughtful  study  of  the 
origin,  form,  and  criticisms  of  this  particular  poem,  '  The  Ancient 
Mariner.'  Teachers  and  students  of  English  are  to  be  congratulated  on. 
and  Mr.  Bates  and  his  publishers  thanked  for,  this  acquisition  to  the 
field  of  literary  study." — Literary  World,  Boston. 

MILTON'S  '  L' ALLEGRO,  IL  PENSEROSO,  ETC.' 

"  Professor  Trent's  sympathetic  treatment  on  the  literary  side  of 
the  subject  matter,  makes  the  introductions  and  notes  of  more  than  usual 
interest  and  profit  ;  and  I  think  that  it  is  just  such  editing  as  this  that 
our  younger  students  need  in  approaching  the  works  of  the  great  poets." 
— J.  RUSSELL  HAYES,  Assistant  Professor  of  English,  Swarthmore 
College,  Pa. 


12  LONGMANS'   ENGLISH   CLASSICS 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  publishers  to  secure  editors 
of  high  reputation  for  scholarship,  experience,  and  skill, 
and  to  provide  a  series  thoroughly  adapted,  by  uniformity 
of  plan  and  thoroughness  of  execution,  to  present  educa 
tional  needs.  The  chief  distinguishing  features  of  the 
series  are  the  following  : 

i.  Each  volume  contains  full  "Suggestions  for  Teach 
ers  and  Students,"  with  bibliographies,  and,  in  many 
cases,  lists  of  topics  recommended  for  further  reading  or 
study,  subjects  for  themes  and  compositions,  specimen 
examination  papers,  etc.  It  is  therefore  hoped  that  the 
series  will  contribute  largely  to  the  working  out  of  sound 
methods  in  teaching  English. 

2.  The  works  prescribed  for  reading  are  treated,  in  every 
case,  as  literature,  not  as  texts  for  narrow  linguistic  study, 
and  edited  with  a  view  to  interesting  the  student  in  the 
book  in  question  both  in  itself  and  as  representative  of  a 
literary  type  or  of  a  period  of  literature,  and  of  leading 
him  on  to  read  other  standard  works  of  the  same  age  or 
kind  understandingly  and  appreciatively. 

3.  These  editions  are  not  issued  anonymously,  nor  are 
they  hackwork, — the   result  of  mere  compilation.     They 
are  the  original  work  of  scholars  and  men  of  letters  who 
are  conversant  with  the  topics  of  which  they  treat. 

4.  Colleges  and   preparatory   schools  are   both   repre 
sented  in  the  list  of  editors  (the  preparatory  schools  more 
prominently  in  the  lists  for  1897  and  1898),  and  it  is  in 
tended  that  the  series  shall  exemplify  the  ripest  methods 
of    American    scholars   for   the   teaching   of    English — the 
result    in    some    cases    of    years    of    actual    experience   in 
secondary  school  work,  and,  in  others,  the  formulation  of 
the  experience  acquired  by  professors  who  observe  care 
fully  the   needs  of  students  who   present  themselves  for 
admission  to  college. 

5.  The  volumes  are  uniform  in  size  and  style,  are  well 
printed   and   bound,    and   constitute    a  well-edited   set  of 
standard  works,  fit  for  permanent  use  and  possession — a 
nucleus  for  a  library  of  English  literature. 


LONGMANS,   GREEN,  &  CO.' 'S  PUBLICATIONS. 
EPOCHS   OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

MESSRS.  LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.  have  the  pleasure  to  state 
that  they  are  now  publishing  a  short  series  of  books  treating  of  the  history 
of  America,  under  the  general  title  Erociis  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY.  The 
series  is  under  the  editorship  of  DR.  ALBERT  BUSHNELL  HART,  Assistant 
Professor  of  History  in  Harvard  College,  who  has  also  prepared  all  the  maps 
for  the  several  volumes.  Each  volume  contains  about  300  pages,  similar  in 
size  and  style  to  the  page  of  the  volumes  in  Messrs.  Longmans'  series, 
'  Epochs  of  Modern  History,'  with  full  marginal  analysis,  working  bibliogra 
phies,  maps,  and  index.  The  volumes  are  issued  separately,  and  each  is 
complete  in  itself.  The  volumes  now  ready  provide  a  continuous  history 
of  the  United  States  from  the  foundation  of  the  Colonies  to  the  present 
time,  suited  to  and  intended  for  class  use  as  well  as  for  general  reading  and 
reference. 

***  The  volumes  of  this  series  already  issued  have  been  adopted  for  me  as  text 
books  in  nearly  all  the  leading  Colleges  and  in  many  Normal  Schools  and  other 
institutions.  A  prospectus,  showing  Contents  and  scope  of  each  volume,  specimen 
pages,  etc. ,  will  be  sent  on  application  to  the  Publishers. 


I.     THE  COLONIES,  1492-1750. 

By  REUBEN  GOLD  THWAITES,  Secretary  of  the  State  Historical  Society  of 
Wisconsin  ;  author  of  "  Historic  Waterways,"  etc.  With  four  colored 
maps.  pp.  xviii.~3Oi.  Cloth.  $1.25. 

CORNELL    UNIVERSITY. 

''  I  beg  leave  to  acknowledge  your  courtesy  in  sending  me  a  copy  of  the  first 
volume  in  the  series  of  '  Epochs  of  American  History,'  which  I  have  read  with 
great  interest  and  satisfaction.  I  am  pleased,  as  everyone  must  be,  with  the 
mechanical  execution  of  the  book,  with  the  maps,  and  with  the  fresh  and  valua 
ble  '.Suggestions'  and  'References.'  ....  The  work  itself  appears  to 
me  to  be  quite  remarkable  for  its  comprehensiveness,  and  it  presents  a  vast 
array  of  subjects  in  a  way  that  is  admirably  fair,  clear  ^nd  orderly." — Professor 
MOSES  Corr  TYLKR,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

WILLIAMS    COLLEGE. 

"  It  is  just  the  book  needed  for  college  students,  not  too  brief  to  be  uninter 
esting,  admirable  in  its  plan,  and  well  furnished  with  references  to  accessible 
authorities." — Professor  RICHARD  A.  RICE,  Williamstown,  Mass. 

VASSAR    COLLEGE. 

"  Perhaps  the  best  recommendation  of  '  Thwaites'  American  Colonies  '  is 
the  f.ict  that  the  day  after  it  was  received  I  ordered  copies  for  class-room  use. 
The  book  is  admirable." — Professor  LuCY  M.  SALMON,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 

"  All  that  could  be  desired.  This  volume  is  more  like  a  fair  treatment  of  the 
whole  subject  of  the  colonies  than  any  work  of  the  sort  yet  produced.1' 

—  The  Critic. 

"  The  subject  is  virtually  a  fresh  one  as  approached  by  Mr.  Thwaites.  It  is 
a  pleasure  to  call  especial  attention  to  some  most  helpful  bibliographical  notes 
provided  at  the  head  of  each  chapter  '' — The  Nation. 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  91-93  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


LONGMANS,   GREEN,  £r>  CO.' S  PUBLICATION'S. 


EPOCHS   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

II.     FORMATION    OF   THE   UNION,    1750-1829. 

By  ALBERT  BUSHNELL  HART,  PH.D.  Assistant  Professor  of  History  in 
Harvard  University,  Member  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 
Author  of  "Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Federal  Government," 
"Epoch  Maps,"  etc.  With  five  colored  maps.  pp.  xx.— 278.  Cloth. 
$1.25. 

The  second  volume  of  the  EPOCHS  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY  aims  to  follow 
out  the  principles  laid  down  for  "THE  COLONIES," — the  study  of  causes 
rather  than  of  events,  the  development  of  the  American  nation  out  of  scattered 
and  inharmonious  colonies.  The  throwing  off  of  English  control,  the  growth 
out  of  narrow  political  conditions,  the  struggle  against  foreign  domination,  and 
the  extension  of  popular  government,  are  all  parts  of  the  uninterrupted  process 
of  the  Formation  of  the  Union. 

LELAND     STANFORD    JR.     UNIVERSITY. 

"  The  large  and  sweeping  treatment  of  the  subject,  which  shows  the  true  re 
lations  of  the  events  preceding  and  following  the  revolution,  to  the  revolution 
itself,  is  a  real  addition  to  the  literature  of  the  subject ;  while  the  bibliography 
prefixed  to  each  chapter,  adds  incalculably  to  the  value  of  the  work" — MARY 
SHELDON  BARNES,  Palo  Alto,  Cal. 

'•  It  is  a  careful  and  conscientious  study  of  the  period  and  its  events,  and 
should  find  a  place  among  the  text-books  of  our  public  schools." 

— Boston  Transcript. 

"  Professor  Hart  has  compressed  a  vast  deal  of  information  into  his  volume, 
and  makes  many  things  most  clear  and  striking.  His  maps,  showing  the  terri 
torial  growth  of  the  United  States,  are  extremely  interesting." 

— A'fw  York  Times. 

"  .  .  The  causes  of  the  Revolution  are  clearly  and  cleverly  condensed  into 
a  few  pages.  .  .  The  maps  in  the  work  are  singularly  useful  even  to  adults. 
There  are  five  of  these,  which  are  alone  worth  the  price  of  the  volume." 

—Magazine  of  American  History. 

"The  formation  period  of  our  nation  is  treated  with  much  care  and  with 
great  precision.  Each  chapter  is  prefaced  with  copious  references  to  authori 
ties,  which  are  valuable  to  the  student  who  desires  to  pursue  his  reading  more 
extensively.  There  are  five  valuable  maps  showing  the  growth  of  our  country 
by  successive  stages  and  repeated  acquisition  of  territory." 

— Boston  Advertiser. 

"  Dr.  Hart  is  not  only  a  master  of  the  art  of  condensation,  .  .  .  he  is 
what  is  even  of  greater  importance,  an  interpreter  of  history.  He  perceives 
the  logic  of  historic  events  ;  hence,  in  his  condensation,  he  does  not  neglect 
proportion,  and  more  than  once  he  gives  the  student  valuable  clues  to  the 
solution  of  historical  problems." — Atlantic  Monthly. 

"A  valuable  volume  of  a  valuable  series.  The  author  has  written  with  a 
full  knowledge  of  his  subject,  and  we  have  little  to  say  except  in  praise." 

— English  Historic  al  Review. 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  91-93  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


LONGMANS,    GREEN,   &  CO. 'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


EPOCHS   OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 


III.  DIVISION   AND    RE-UNION,  1829-1889. 

By  WOODROW  WILSON,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Jurisprudence  in 
Princeton  College  ;  Author  of  "Congressional  Government,"  "The 
State — Elements  of  Historical  and  Practical  Politics,"  etc.,  etc.  With 
five  colored  Maps.  346  pages.  Cloth,  $1.25. 

"  We  regret  that  we  have  not  space  for  more  quotations  from  this  uncora 
monly  strong,  impartial,  interesting  book.  Giving  only  enough  facts  to 
elucidate  the  matter  discussed,  it  omits  no  important  questions.  It  furnishes 
the  reader  clear-cut  views  of  the  right  and  the  wrong  of  them  all.  It  gives  ad 
mirable  pen-portraits  of  the  great  personages  of  the  period  with  as  much  free 
dom  from  bias,  and  as  much  pains  to  be  just,  as  if  the  author  were  delineating 
Pericles,  or  Alcibiades,  Sulla,  or  Caesar.  Dr.  Wilson  has  earned  the  gratitude  of 
seekers  after  truth  by  his  masterly  production." — N.  C.  University  Magazine. 

"  This  admirable  little  volume  is  one  of  the  few  books  which  nearly  meet  our 
ideal  of  history.  It  is  causal  history  in  the  truest  sense,  tracing  the  workings  of 
latent  influences  and  far-reaching  conditions  of  their  outcome  in  striking  fact, 
yet  the  whole  current  of  events  is  kept  in  view,  and  the  great  personalities  of 
the  time,  the  nerve-centers  of  history,  live  intensely  and  in  due  proportion  in 
these  pages.  We  do  not  know  the  equal  of  this  book  for  a  brief  and  trust 
worthy,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  brilliantly  written  and  sufficient  history  of  these 
sixty  years.  We  heartily  commend  it,  not  only  for  general  reading,  but  as  an 
admirable  text-book." — Post- Graduate  and  Wooster  Quarterly. 

"  Considered  as  a  general  history  of  the  United  States  from  1829  to  1889, 
his  book  is  marked  by  excellent  sense  of  proportion,  extensive  knowledge,  im 
partiality  of  judgment,  unusual  power  of  summarizing,  and  an  acute  political 
sense.  Few  writers  can  more  vividly  set  forth  the  views  of  parties." 

— Atlantic  Monthly. 

"  Students  of  United  States  history  may  thank  Mr.  Wilson  for  an  extreme 
ly  clear  and  careful  rendering  of  a  period  very  difficult  to  handle  .  .  .  they 
will  find  themselves  materially  aided  in  easy  comprehension  of  the  political 
situation  of  the  country  by  the  excellent  maps." — N.  Y  Times. 

"  Professor  Wilson  writes  in  a  clear  and  forcible  style.  .  .  .  The  bibli 
ographical  references  at  the  head  of  each  chapter  are  both  well  selected  and 
well  arranged,  and  add  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  work,  which  appears  to  be 
especially  designed  for  use  in  instruction  in  colleges  and  preparatory  schools." 

—  Yale  Review. 

"  It  is  written  in  a  style  admirably  clear,  vigorous,  and  attractive,  a  thorough 
grasp  of  the  subject  is  shown,  and  the  development  of  the  theme  is  lucid  and 
orderly,  while  the  tone  is  judicial  and  fair,  and  the  deductions  sensible  and 
dispassionate— so  far  as  we  can  see.  ...  It  would  be  difficult  to  construct 
a  better  manual  of  the  subject  than  this,  and  it  adds  greatly  to  the  value  of  this 
useful  series." — Hartford  Courant. 

".  .  .  One  of  the  most  valuable  historical  works  that  has  appeared  in 
many  years.  The  delicate  period  of  our  country's  history,  with  which  this 
work  is  largely  taken  up,  is  treated  by  the  author  with  an  impartiality  that  is 
almost  unique.  "—Columbia  Law  Times. 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  91-93  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


LONGMANS,   GREEN,   &  CO.'S   PUBLICATIONS. 

A  STUDENT'S    HISTORY   OF   ENGLAND,  from 
the  Earliest  Times  to  1885. 

By  SAMUEL  RAWSON  GARDINER,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  Fellow  of  All  Souls 
College,  Oxford,  etc.;  Author  of  "The  History  of  England  from  the 
Accession  of  James  I.  to  1642,"  etc.  Illustrated  under  the  superintend 
ence  of  Mr.  W.  H.  ST.  JOHN  HOPE,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries,  and  with  the  assistance  in  the  choice  of  Portraits  of 
Mr.  GEORGE  SCHARF,  C.B.,  F.S.A.,  who  is  recognized  as  the  highest 
authority  on  the  subject.  In  one  Volume,  with  378  Illustrations  and 
full  Index.  Crown  8vo,  cloth,  plain,  $3.00. 

The  book  is  also  fttblished  in  three  Vohwnes  (each  with  Index  and 
Table  of  Contents)  as  follows  : 

VOLUME  I.— B.C.  55-A.D.  1509.     410  pp.     With  173  Illustrations  and  Index. 

Crown  8vo,  $1.20. 
VOLUME  II.— A. D.  1509-1689.  332  pp.  With  96  Illustrations  and  Index. 

Crown  8vo,  $1.20. 
VOLUME  III.— A.D.  1689-1885.  374  pp.  With  109  Illustrations  and  Index. 

Crown  8vo,  $1.20. 

V Gardiner's  "Student's  History  of  England,"  through  Part  IX.  (to 
1789),  is  recommended  by  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  as  indicating  the 
requirements  for  admission  in  this  subject ;  and  the  ENTIEE  work  is  mad» 
the  basis  for  English  history  study  in  the  University. 

YALE    UNIVERSITY. 

"  Gardiner's  '  Student's  History  of  England  '  seems  to  me  an  admirable 
short  history.'1 — Prof.  C.  H.  SMITH,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

TRINITY   COLLEGE,   HARTFORD. 

"  It  is,  in  my  opinion,  by  far  the  best  advanced  school  history  of  England 
that  I  have  ever  seen.  It  is  clear,  concise,  and  scientific,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
attractive  and  interesting.  The  illustrations  are  very  good  and  a  valuable 
addition  to  the  book,  as  they  are  not  mere  pretty  pictures,  but  of  real  historical 
and  archxological  interest." — Prof.  HENRY  FERGUSON. 

"A  unique  feature  consists  of  the  very  numerous  illustrations.  They 
throw  light  on  almost  every  phase  of  English  life  in  all  ages.  .  .  .  Never, 
perhaps,  in  such  a  treatise  has  pictorial  illustration  been  used  with  so  good 
effect.  The  alert  teacher  will  find  here  ample  material  for  useful  lessons  by 
leading  the  pupil  to  draw  the  proper  inferences  and  make  the  proper  interpre 
tations  and  comparisons.  .  .  .  The  style  is  compact,  vigorous,  and  inter 
esting.  There  is  no  lack  of  precision  ;  and,  in  the  selection  of  the  details,  the 
hand  of  the  scholar  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  source  and  with  the  results 
of  recent  criticism  is  plainly  revealed.  "—The  Nation,  N.  Y. 

"  .  .  .  It  is  illustrated  by  pictures  of  real  value  ;  and  when  accompanied 
by  the  companion  '  Atlas  of  English  History'  is  all  that  need  be  desired  for  its 
special  purpose."  —  The  Churchman,  N.  Y. 

'"'#*-"*  prospectus  and  specimen  pages  of  Gar  diners  "  StuJenfs  History 
of  England'1'1  will  be  sent  free  on  application  to  the  Publishers. 

LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  91  and  93  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York. 


LONGMANS,    GREEN,   c"  CO.' S  PUBLICATIONS. 


LONGMANS'    SCHOOL   GRAMMAR. 

By  DAVID  SALMON.  Part  I.,  Parts  of  Speech.;  Part  II.,  Classification 
and  Inflection  ;  Part  III.,  Analysis  of  Sentences;  Part  IV.,  History 
and  Derivation.  With  Notes  for  Teachers  and  Index.  New  Edition, 
Revised.  With  Preface  by  E.  A.  ALLEN,  Professor  of  English  in  the 
University  of  Missouri.  I2mo.  272  pages.  75  cents. 

"...  One  of  the  best  working  grammars  we  have  ever  seen,  and  this 
applies  to  all  its  parts.  It  is  excellently  arranged  and  perfectly  graded.  Part 
IV.,  on  History  and  Derivation,  is  as  beautiful  and  interesting  as  it  is  valuable 
— but  this  might  be  said  of  the  whole  book."— New  York  Teacher. 

"  The  Grammar  deserves  to  supersede  all  others  with  which  we  are  ac 
quainted." — N.  Y.  Nation,  July  2,  1891. 

PREFACE   TO   AMERICAN    EDITION. 

IT  seems  to  be  generally  conceded  that  English  grammar  is  worse  taught 
and  less  understood  than  any  other  subject  in  the  school  course.  This  is, 
doubtless,  largely  due  to  the  kind  of  text-books  used,  which,  for  the  most  part, 
require  methods  that  violate  the  laws  of  pedagogy  as  well  as  of  language. 
There  are,  however,  two  or  three  English  grammars  that  are  admirable  com 
mentaries  on  the  tacts  of  the  language,  but,  written  from  the  point  of  view  of 
the  scholar  rather  than  of  the  learner,  they  fail  to  awaken  any  interest  in  the 
subject,  and  hence  are  not  serviceable  for  the  class-room. 

My  attention  was  first  called  to  Longmans'  School  Grammar  by  a  favorable 
notice  of  it  in  the  Nation.  In  hope  of  finding  an  answer  to  the  inquiry  of 
numerous  teachers  for  "  the  best  school  grammar,"  I  sent  to  the  Publishers  for 
a  copy  An  examination  of  the  work,  sn  far  from  resulting  in  the  usual  dis 
appointment,  left  the  impression  that  a  successful  text-book  in  a  field  strewn 
with  failures  had  at  last  been  produced,  for  the  practical  test  of  the  class 
room,  I  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  an  accomplished  grammarian,  who  had  tried 
several  of  the  best  grammars  published,  and  he  declares  the  results  to  be  most 
satisfactory. 

The  author's  simplicity  of  method,  the  clear  statement  of  facts,  the  orderly 
arrangement,  the  wise  restraint,  manifest  on  every  page,  reveal  the  scholar  and 
practical  teacher.  No  one  who  had  not  mastered  the  language  in  its  early  his 
torical  development  could  have  prepared  a  school  grammar  so  free  trom  sense 
less  rules  and  endless  details  The  most  striking  feature,  minimum  of  precept, 
maximum  of  example,  will  commend  itself  to  all  teachers  who  follow  rational 
methods.  In  this  edition,  the  Publishers  have  adapted  the  illustrative  sentences 
to  the  ready  comprehension  of  American  pupils,  and  I  take  pleasure  in  recom 
mending  the  book,  in  behalf  of  our  mother  tongue,  to  the  teachers  of  our  Pub 
lic  and  Private  Schools. 

EDWARD  A.  ALLRN. 
UNIVERSITY  OF  MISSOURI,  May,  1891. 

MR.    HAI.E'S   SCHOOL,    BOSTON. 

"  I  have  used  your  Grammar  and  Composition  during  the  last  year  in  my 
school,  and  like  them  both  very  much  indeed.  They  are  the  best  books  of  the 
kind  1  have  ever  seen,  and  supply  a  want  I  have  felt  for  a  good  many  years." — 
Al.BKKT  HALS,  /iint.'n,  A/ass. 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  91-93  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


LONGMANS,   GREEN,   &>  CO.^S  PTBLICATIONS. 
LONGMANS'   SCHOOL   GRAMMAR.— OPINIONS. 

GIRLS'    HIGH    SCHOOL,    BOSTON,    MASS. 

'' When  you  put  Longmans'  School  Grammar  in  my  hands,  some  year  or 
two  ago,  I  used  it  a  little  while  with  a  boy  of  nine  years,  with  perfect  satisfac 
tion  and  approval.  The  exigencies  of  the  boy's  school  arrangements  inter 
cepted  that  course  in  grammar  and  caused  the  book  to  be  laid  aside.  To-day 
I  have  taken  the  book  and  have  examined  it  all,  from  cover  to  cover.  It  i* 
simply  a  perfect  grammar.  Its  beginnings  are  made  with  utmost  gentleness 
and  reasonableness,  and  it  goes  at  least  quite  as  far  as  in  any  portion  of  our 
public  schools  course  it  is,  for  the  present,  desirable  to  think  of  going.  'I  he 
author  has  adjusted  his  book  to  the  very  best  conceivable  methods  of  teaching, 
and  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  instructor  as  a  guide  and  a  help.  Grammar 
should,  so  taught,  become  a  pleasure  to  teacher  and  pupil.  Especially  do  I 
relish  the  author's  pages  of  '  Notes  for  Teachers.'  at  the  end  of  the  hook.  The 
man  who  could  write  these  notes  should  enlarge  them  into  a  monograph  on  the 
teaching  of  English  Grammar  He  would,  thereby,  add  a  valuable  contribu 
tion  to  our  stock  of  available  pedagogic  helps.  I  must  add  in  closing,  that 
while  the  book  in  question  has,  of  course,  but  small  occasion  to  touch  disputed 
points  of  English  Grammar,  it  never  incurs  the  censure  that  school  grammars 
are  almost  sure  to  deserve,  of  insufficient  acquaintance  with  modern  linguistic 
science.  In  short,  the  writer  has  shown  himself  scientifically,  as  well  as  peda- 
gogically,  altogether  competent  for  his  task." 

—PRINCIPAL  SAMUEL  THURBBR 

HIGH  SCHOOL,  FORT  WAYNE,  IND 

"  ....  It  is  not  often  that  one  has  occasion  to  be  enthusiastic  over  a 
school-book,  especially  over  an  English  Grammar,  but  out  of  pure  enthusiasm, 
I  write  to  express  my  grateful  appreciation  of  this  one  It  is,  without  exception, 
the  best  English  Grammar  that  I  have  ever  seen  for  children  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  years  of  age.  It  is  excellent  in  matter  and  method.  Every  page  shows 
the  hand  of  a  wise  and  skilful  teacher.  The  author  has  been  content  to  present 
the  facts  of  English  Grammar  in  a  way  intelligible  to  children.  The  book  is  so 
intelligible  and  so  interesting  from  start  to  finish  that  only  the  genius  of  dulness 
can  make  it  dry.  There  are  no  definitions  inconsistent  \vith  the  facts  of  our 
language,  no  facts  at  war  with  the  definitions  There  are  other  grammars  that 
are  more  ''complete  "  and  as  correct  in  teaching  but  not  one  to  be  compared 
with  it  in  adaptation  to  the  needs  of  young  students.  It  will  not  chloroform  the 
intelligence  v — PRINCIPAL  C.  T.  LANE. 

HIGH    SCHOOL,  MINOOKA,  ILL. 

"  We  introduced  your  School  Grammar  into  our  schools  the  first  of  thii 
term,  and  are  highly  satisfied  with  the  results.  In  my  judgment  there  is  no 
better  work  extant  lor  the  class  of  pupils  for  which  it  is  designed." 

— PRINCIPAL  E.  F.  ADAMS. 

NEWARK   ACADEMY,    NEWARK,   N.    J. 

"  We  are  using  with  much  satisfaction  your  Longmans'  School  Grammar, 
adopted  for  use  in  our  classes  over  a  year  since.  Its  strong  points  are  simplic 
ity  of  arrangement,  and  abundance  of  examples  for  practice.  In  these  par 
ticulars  I  know  of  no  other  book  equal  to  it." — DR.  S.  A.  FARP.ANn. 

*S  A  Prospectus  showing  contents  and  ipecimen  pages  may  be  had  of  the  Pub 
lishers. 

LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  91-93  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


LONGMANS,   GREEK,  &•  CO.  S  PUBLICATIONS. 
LONGMANS'    SCHOOL    GEOGRAPHY. 

By  GEORGE  G.  CHISHOLM,  M.A.,  B.Sc.,  Author  of  "Handbook  of  Com 
mercial  Geography,"  "A  Smaller  Commercial  Geography,"  etc.,  etc., 
and  C.  II.  LEETE,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  Fellow  of  the  American  Geographical 
Society.  Fourth  edition,  revised,  large  I2mo,  with  70  Illustrations.  384 
pages.  $1.25. 

The  aim  of  this  text-book  is  to  present  in  an  attractive  form  those  facts  of 
geography  that  are  really  foundational,  i.e.,  those  that  are  most  important  to 
know,  and  are  most  effective  as  discipline.  All  countries  and  regions  of  the 
world  are,  therefore,  not  treated  upon  a  uniform  plan  or  according  to  a  rigid 
outline,  but  that  which  is  most  distinctive  and  characteristic  in  each  is  presented 
nith  due  relief.  And,  in  order  that  pupils  may  realize  that  to  understand  is  in 
geography  equally,  if  not  more,  important  than  to  memorize,  special  promi 
nence  is  given  to  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect.  The  book  is  especially  suited 
for  use  in  Normal  Schools  and  in  Schools  where  more  than  elementary  geo 
graphical  work  is  done. 

\*  A  descriptive  circular  of  the  book  and  of  the  Companion  Atlas  and  Book  of 
Questions,  may  be  Had  of  the  Publishers. 

MILTON    ACADEMY. 

"  It  is  the  best  Geography  that  I  have  seen,  and  we  are  using  it  in  this  school." 
— HARRISON  O.  APTHORP,  Milton,  Mass. 

MARIANNA   MALB   INSTITUTE. 

"  It  is  the  best  thing  of  the  kind  I  have  ever  seen.  It  is  just  what  I  wish.  I 
shall  be  pleased  to  introduce  it. "— T.  A.  FUTRALL,  Marianna,  Ark. 

PREPARATORY    SCHOOL,   WASHINGTON,    \\    C. 

"...  Find  it  an  excellent  book.  .  .  .  It  is  striking  and  interesting — 
different  from  any  work  on  the  subject  I  have  ever  seen.'' — A.  P.  MONTAGUE. 

"  The  closing  paragraph  of  the  prospectus  is  much  closer  to  the  opinion  of 
the  reviewer  than  such  paragraphs  usually  are  :  '  This  text-book  adapts  itself  to 
pupils  of  intelligence,  and  will  be  highly  appreciated  by  all  teachers  imbued 
with  a  spirit  for  teaching  real  geography,  not  attempting  to  supersede  thr ir 
functions  by  dictating  the  length  of  the  daily  tasks  or  the  qu<  stions  that  shall 
be  asked,  but  furnishing  a  body  of  material  so  selected,  arranged,  and  pre 
sented  that  its  perusal  is  at  once  pleasurable,  suggestive,  and  of  substantial 
value.'  This  is  perfectly  true.  .  .  .  On  the  whole  the  book  is  remarkably 
successful." — Nation,  N.  Y. 

"  This  book  is  the  forerunner  of  a  change  which  must  speedily  be  effected 
in  geographical  teaching,  and  is  itself  a  product  of  the  movement  for  reform  in 
England,  which  originated  with  the  Geographical  Society." 

—  ^^'isconsin  jour  rial  of  Education. 

".  .  .  Probably  the  best  book  of  the  kind  ever  published  in  our  language, 
and  ought  to  help  in  improving  the  instruction  of  our  schools  in  geography. 
Messrs.  Chisholm  and  Leete's  book  is  valuable  for  its  method,  and  it  is  this  fact 
which  entitles  it  to  tne  attention  of  teachers." — /im/jit  Beacon. 

"  It  has  a  system  of  cross  references  that  is  very  valuable  and  constantly 
reminds  the  pupil  that  all  are  parts  of  a  whole.  It  does  not  merely  state 
facts,  but  attempts  to  show  a  cause  for  each  phenomenon,  so  that  the  study  of 
geography  is  not  mere  rnemoriter  work." — Educational  Couiaiit. 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &   CO.    91  &  93   Fifth   Avenue,  New  York. 


LONGMANS,   GREEN,   &  CO.' S  PUBLICATIONS. 


LONGMANS'  NEW  SCHOOL  ATLAS.  Consistiug 
of  28  quarto  and  10  octavo  Colored  Maps  (and  20  In 
sets). 

Edited  by  G.  G.  CHISHOLM,  M.A.,  B. Sc.,  and  C.  H.  LEETE,  A.M., 
Ph.D.  Engraved  by  EDWARD  STANFORD.  With  a  very  full  Index  of 
over  100,000  Names.  Imp.  8vo.  $1.50. 

Longmans'  New  School  Atlas  is  intended,  as  its  name  implies,  for  use  in 
schools.  It  offers  a  series  of  maps  which  it  is  believed  will  be  found  fully  ade 
quate  for  the  most  advanced  school  work,  affording  the  material  for  careful  and 
prolonged  study,  and  a  basis  for  a  broad  knowledge  of  geographic  principles 
and  facts. 

With  this  end  in  view  three  groups  of  maps  have  been  prepared  :  first,  nine 
maps  exhibiting  the  leading  facts  *A physical  geography  and  human  distribution 
as  pertaining  to  ih&u'orldas  a  whole  ;  second,  eleven  maps  pertaining  to  North. 
America,  and  more  particularly  to  the  United  States  and  Canada,  physical, 
political,  geological,  climatic,  industrial,  historical,  and  on  population  ;  and 
third,  twenty-one  maps  (and  seventeen  insets)  of  other  parts  of  the  world  in 
their  physical  and  political  aspects. 

The  Geological  Map  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  was  revised  by  Mr. 
W.  J.  McGee,  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  and  in  this  map  the  standard 
Color  scheme  now  adopted  for  the  maps  of  that  Survey  has  been  followed. 

*„*  A  prospectus  more  fully  describing  the  Atlas,  with  a  Specimen  Map,  may  be 
had  on  application  to  the  Publishers. 

"  We  heartily  commend  this  Atlas  as  of  very  superior  excellence." 

— New  York  Churchman. 

"  Much  the  best  Atlas  to  be  had  for  a  dollar  and  a  half  that  has  ever  come 
to  our  notice.  .  .  The  maps  are  clear,  the  physical  features  being  remark 
ably  well  defined." — Journal  of  Pedagogy. 

"  Longmans'  '  New  School  Atlas  '  is  a  thoroughly  prepared  and  accurate 
work.  In  scope  it  embraces  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  including,  in  addition 
to  those  generally  embodied,  maps  indicating  magnetic  variation,  navigability  of 
rivers,  and  other  showings  of  interest  to  the  student  of  physical,  racial,  social, 
or  commercial  facts  concerning  all  countries." — The  Chautauquait. 

"A  commendable  piece  of  work.  The  maps  are  not  covered  with  a  mass 
of  detail  or  blackened  with  the  names  of  insignificant  towns.  In  addition  to 
the  usual  geographical  details,  there  are  maps  to  illustrate  the  ocean  currents, 
magnetic  variation,  density  of  population,  and  geological  structure.  No  atla* 
of  equal  practical  value  has  been  issued." 

— Professor  NICHOLAS  MURRAY  BUTLER,  Educational  Review,  N.  Y. 

"  The  work  of  presenting  the  physical  and  political  features  of  the  different 
countries  has  been  done  most  thoroughly  and  admirably.  The  value  in  the 
school-room  of  those,  however,  that  give  the  density  of  population,  vegetation, 
isothermal  lines,  atmospheric  pressure,  rainfall,  commerce,  etc.,  is  just  as 
great.  For  a  school  atlas  we  doubt  if  there  is  anything  to  surpass  it 

— School  Join  iiiil. 

LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  15  East  Sixteenth  Street,  New  Yprfc 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •  Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

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